Dark Solace
by Piper-Knight
Summary: Being submerged in darkness is like floating in a sea of numb. Sakura tries to live her life through the numb, without others. She lets herself sink into the dark after her life turns against her. Who better then the Akatsuki to surface her from her past?
1. Regret

**Piper: I've had another Saku-Akatsuki urge.**

**Pairings:**

You pick who you want Sakura to be with on my profile!!

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Chapter 1 - Regret

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**Sakura Haruno**

Rain splashed against the windows of my mother's car, creating a dark, yet calm, feeling to the cars atmosphere. Well, at least, on my half it did. My mother sat in the front seat of the car, giggling like a school girl as her boy friend proceeded to tickle and flirt with her shamelessly. I wanted to snap at both of them to watch the road, but who was I to spoil their day with my attitude? I had a bad day, but that didn't give me the right to spread it to them, no matter how much I loathed the man in the front seat, my mother's boyfriend, Daisuke.

Daisuke tried hard to get to know me, don't get me wrong, but no matter how hard I tried I could only imagine him as the man my mother had been having an affair with whilst married to my father. I could only imagine him as the bad, _bad_, man that took my daddy from me. He had tried explaining the affair to me, like my mother had, but I had practically bit his head off every time. I, for one, do not _want_ to know about how he and my mom met in a diner and it was like _love at first sight_ and then they went to a hotel every weekend. My mom's cover up was the "business trip" excuse.

I absolutely hated my mom for it, but in a way I still loved her. I just didn't love her as much as I know did my father, and I certainly didn't trust her or Daisuke, my soon to be step-dad. Most of the time, though, I let my anger consume me. I wanted to kill my mother every time I heard dad crying late in the middle of the night, and I most defiantly wanted to strangle her in the court room when I saw my dad's heart-broken face after the judge declared my mother had custody over me.

That moment was only a few hours ago, and it was very fresh in my memory. It stung to think of, my father's face all broken and longing for his daughter. Right now, I was absolutely _murderous._ They took me from my daddy, and I didn't even want to go with them. They were..._stupid_. As utterly teenager that sounds, it is true. They think their in love but their both in it for the physical rush.

And now, after brooding over all of this, I began to glare out side the car at the moving freeway. My hatred bubbled in my stomach, and I felt my hands tighten into fist. I kept them clench until I could practically hear the skin tear. I was so angry, so mad, that I felt ready to snap any moment. My right arm, my punching arm, gave a longing quiver when my mother giggled again. I wanted to punch something, or somebody, so bad.

Another giggle.

And another.

I heard Daisuke chuckle, and I snapped. My arm extended from the back seat, and as soon as my finger grazed the radio knob, I twisted it hard. The radio crackled to life and gave a terrifying screech, so loud my ear drums began to throb, and I was in the back seat. Daisuke covered his ears with a groan, and my mother's car swerved. I let the noise last for five more seconds before flipping the radio down.

"For god's sake, Sakura!" My mom scolded, "What the hell was that?!"

Our matching emerald green eyes met in the driver mirror, and hers widened when they saw the anger and pain in mine. I opened my mouth and said coolly, "Keep your hands to yourselves."

My mother eyes turned into a glare, "Sakura, Daisuke and I are grown ups, we are allowed to be-"

"What the hell ever, just do what ever the hell you were doing when I'm not around," I hissed.

Daisuke was looking at me and my mother nervously, but that was the only reaction that really came from him. It made me mad. If I would have done this with my father in the car he would have scolded me and told me I was grounded. Daisuke was no father, and he certainly wouldn't be mine.

"Sakura, Daisuke and I are going to be married, we're just getting-"

I spoke smoothly, "A head start on the honey moon. You've been on that head start for six months."

"Sakura Haruno! Do not talk to me that way! You will show some respect for both Daisuke and I!" My mother yelled, and I felt the car swerve again.

My whole attitude seemed to darken, and I let my head fall so that my bangs would hide my eyes. My body gave a giant shiver as waves of anger rolled down my spine, and tears of rage built up in my eyes. I clenched the fabric of the back seat in my hands before raising my head slightly. I opened my mouth and said every angry teenager's number one comeback:

"Make me."

The car swerved again, and my mother hissed, "What has gotten into you?!"

A cruel, humorless smirk made its way to my face. I spoke in a soft, deadly calm tone, "What's gotten into me? What got into you when you start cheating on dad? What got into you when you kept it a secret for six months? What got into you when you thought you could just take me away from my daddy and that I would accept Daisuke?! He's not my father, he never will be!! I hate him! _I hate you_!!"

My mother spun around to scream in my face, when Daisuke gave a startled cry of my mother's name, "_Hikari!_"

Time seemed to slow as the headlights of another, oncoming car flashed in our windshield. I heard the screech of tires, but I couldn't determine on whether they were my mother's or not. All of a sudden, the harsh ring of metal scratching against metal filled my ears. I felt something searing hot cut my stomach as a bright light seemed to envelope me. I felt and hear sparks all around me, and a cold feeling spread through my body. It was freezing and numbing, and seemed to draw me in. I hear my mother scream, or was that my own? I couldn't tell. Was my mouth open in pain, screaming out worthlessly, or was it snapped shut in agony as everything seemed to spin around me? I couldn't tell any more.

I was numb.

Soon, the numb became a black cloud that enveloped me slowly and silently. It was warm now, and comforting. It reminded me of my father, and how he would always hold me when I was sad. I liked this darkness. It was...calming. Was this death? A part of me hoped so, it hoped for it so much...

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The smooth pace of a hospital heart monitor was what I awoke to from my dark slumber. Every part of me felt heavy, and my stomach felt kind of numb. I tried to move, but a sliver of pain shot through my entire being, making me groan softly. Everything hurt when I moved. Everything seemed to be scraped, pulled, or bruised. What happened to me?

"Sakura?" A soft voice flowed through my ears, and I wanted to respond.

When I tried to make my mouth move, all I got was a bunch of pain. I managed to make my vocal chords move, and let out a small, "Mmm..."

"Oh, you're awake! How do you feel, Hun?" The voice asked, and you could tell there was a smile in her voice.

My eyes lids fluttered, my lashes brushing against my cheeks. It didn't hurt badly, and I tried harder. With enough effort, my eye lids slid open and I got my first glimpse of the world after my voyage in the darkness. It was blurry, but I could see colors. I could see a lot of white, all around me. My eyes finally caught sight of a dark, brown color. It framed a light tan color, and I could barely make out two dark colors swimming in the tan. A person?

Tears leaked from my eyes at the new light, but I adjusted quickly. I was correct; the colors above me were, indeed, a person. It was a woman, in fact. She had beautiful dark brown hair and black-brown eyes. She had a figure, but it was hidden behind a white nurse's outfit. All in all, she was very beautiful.

"...Who...a-are..." My voice cracked, and I felt a sudden sting in my dry throat. It was like having strep throat, a really bad case of it, too.

The woman smiled and held a cup towards me, and placed the straw inside it to my lips. I barely opened my lips, just enough to get around the yellow colored straw. She smiled, and said softly, "I am Shizune. I work here at Konoha Hospital. Sweet heart, you were in a terrible wreck. You've been in a coma for three weeks now..."

Those words opened the floodgates, and my memories came piling in. I remembered being taken from my father, being angry with mom and Daisuke, yelling at mom, and then the bright light. Mom...

I let the straw fall from my lips, and I asked weakly, "Wh-Where...is m-my mother?"

A simple frown came to Shizune's face, and her eyes fell to the white blankets that covered my aching body. Her lips parted and she said softly, "You were injured very badly, Sakura. You were impaled by a piece of the car, right through your lower areas. You lost both of your ovaries... Your right arm is broken, and you were cut across the cheek. You hair had got burned and charred, and we cut it to your shoulders. You have burns all across your lower neck, and the palms off your hands are also burned. You will need to re-"

"Where is my mom?" I asked more sternly, swallowing once to try and rid myself of the sore throat I carried.

Shizune refused to meet my eyes as she said, "Hikari and Daisuke were in the front of the vehicle, and the got most of the injuries... I'm sorry Sakura, but they didn't make it."

At first, I felt extremely calm. I starred at Shizune blankly, before I out right lost it. Tears trailed down my cheeks, and I sobbed, despite how much it burned my throat and made my stomach ache. I shook my head over and over, muttering between my pathetic cries, "You're lying! Lying!"

Shizune took me by the shoulders, forcing me to look at her, "I'm so sorry, Hun, but I am telling the truth..."

I could hardly believe it. My mother was dead, and the very last word I had every said to her was...I hate you...

A cold ache spread through me, and I felt myself crying harder. The only thing that I could hear was the pace of my heart monitor as it increased in speed and Shizune yelling for the doctor.

_I hate you!_

_I hate you!_

_I hate you!_

Those cold words that had once came from my lips echoed through my head as black took over my vision, and my head fell back on the pillows. I let it consume me, and welcomed its numbing pain. It seemed to be the only comfort I would have for a long time.

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**Piper: Ahh, I like this!**

**PLEASE REVIEW! I really want some feed back on this. If I get back negative feed back or not enough, I'll probably take this down and try something else.**


	2. Sober

**Piper: Hi! Sorry I took so long, school's been bringing meh down.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

_Right now, Itachi and Madara are tied for Sakura's love interest! Vote on my profile to break the tie!_

**WARNINGS: Dark themes, Cussing, Blood**

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Chapter 2 - Sober

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**Sakura Haruno**

_"Sakura, I need some reaction, please. This is our last session before you go live with your father. Don't you want to get a few things off your chest before being released from the hospital and into his care?"_

"..."

_"Come now, surely you must have something to say? I've gotten a bigger response from you then this..."_

"...Maybe..."

_"Hmm? What is it, dear? Speak up, please."_

"Maybe you should just give up."

_"Why do you say that?"_

"You're pissing me off."

It has been a... Actually, I don't know how long it has been since I woke up for the first time in the hospital. Keeping track of days seemed so insignificant now. When you're trying to forget everything, you seem to lose focus on everything else. It's like going through life in a daze, walking on auto pilot while your mind is feverishly fending off the thoughts that make you cringe. Whilst my mind is working, it takes most physical strength I seemed to have once upon a time. It's like I'm nothing but a ghost any more.

I do know something, though. I have been seeing a therapist every other day for how long it's been since I have been able to pull my self to my feet and move them with out stress. The reason being because of my depression after learning of my mother's death. Shizune was worried, and got me this therapist. I couldn't even bring myself to remember the woman's name. It was pointless to remember, seeing as I wouldn't be with her for very long and that she would mean nothing to me after wards.

Said therapist looked at me calmly, "Now now, no need for that language."

Nothing she said really could make me mad. I don't feel much any more. Most of the time, it's just the numb. The only really thing I feel besides the numb is the pain, whenever my memories reach the surface. The whole "pissing me off" talk was just an act. I feel that, maybe, if I act angry enough, people will leave me alone in fear of my "rage"...it's better then them trying to talk with me about my feelings or lack of.

My lifeless emerald green orbs twitched to the clock, and I asked softly, "Time's up, can I go?"

The therapist looked at the clock with tight lips, seeming to almost glare at it. This woman was too persistent, trying to pry into my feelings and secrets with a mental crowbar. She almost got me to open up a few times with warm smiles, ones that painfully reminded me of my mother. When I realized she was using the "I'm a safe person and only want to help you" play, I quickly began to push her away. I made a wall and concreted it there. People reminded me of my mother. People reminded me that it was all my fault that she died. People _hurt_.

"Alright," She sighed, closing her notebook on the practically empty page of notes she scribbled about my small mumblings and emotional displays or lack of. "I'm glad to have met you, Sakura, and if you ever want to talk again, here's my card," She handed me the laminated square that was a pasty white. It was splattered with color in the form of words and numbers, the woman's face in the corner. It would be burned.

We both stood, our eyes locking briefly. Hers were full of thought, while mine were dead to the core. The last time I looked in a mirror, my eyes were a dark void that seemed to suck out your soul with its empty emerald depths. My eyes caught the slight roll of the woman's shoulders as a shiver cascaded down her spinal chord. So she sees the empty also...

Despite the cold vibration she received from my stare, she placed a hand on my shoulder and pulled her lips into a smile, showing off bleached teeth, "Good bye, Sakura."

Without even uttering a word, I slipped away from her and out the door before she could even blink. I walked through the halls of the hospital, my dead gaze focusing on the ground ahead of me. A few familiar nurses and doctors greeted me, and continued on with their day. They knew that they wouldn't be getting a reaction from me, and if they did, it wouldn't be a happy one.

Most people would think whilst walking, even through pain, but I just...didn't. My thoughts were empty except for the normal human mind function of the split second stray thought. The arrival to my hospital room was quick. I didn't feel like lying in the hard cot for the rest of the day. It was too wasteful. I could be outside, enjoying a little bit of fresh air through my empty, hollow feelings. Slowly, my feet led me to the bathroom.

Staring into the small mirror, I saw someone who was not my self. Her hair was in choppy pink layers that reached her shoulders, her bangs swept from the right side of her fore head to the other, covering one eye partly. _My hair used to go down to my hips in waves, and my bangs framed my face._ Her skin was porcelain pale, almost like a breakable doll. _I used to have the gloss of a tan on my skin._ I looked skinny, but not healthy skinny. _I used to look athletic._ My eyes were two emerald depths filled with empty nothing that seemed to suck you into their despair. _My eyes used to sparkle with vivid emotion._ I had extreme burns on my hand, and I would have to wear gloves for the rest of my life to avoid damaging any of the tissue, healed or not. _My hands used to be soft, with long and gentle fingers._ I had a scar that started below my left eye about a few inches and went in a crooked line down to the middle of my cheek. _My face used to hold at least a little beauty in it, but now it held none. _I had a giant scar on my stomach from were a piece of the car jabbed me. I would never be able to have children. _I used to have the "big house-awesome husband-three to five kids-" dream._ I wasn't my self in any way. I was a... freak version of what I used to be.

I was...broken, almost. It wasn't completely like that. It was more like I was...dead. I lost my mother, because of my stupidity. I distracted her while driving, shouting like a spoiled child. That didn't break me; it_ killed_ me. Knowing that it was my fault that my own mother was dead, just because I was being a rotten brat, _killed_ me on the inside. The weight of guilt made my shoulders drop heavily, and I let out a gasp of air. It hurt, it hurt so much.

A strangled noise came from my throat as my back hit the bathroom wall, and I slowly slid down it whilst sobs built in my chest. Tears stung my vision harshly and I let them loose, allowing the droplets of water to stain my extremely pale cheeks. I smothered my sobs, raising my fist to my mouth. If I cried loudly, some one would hear me. To stiffen my sobs even more, I bit down on my knuckles, hard.

The point of my canine teeth ripped into my skin, and a strangled whimper managed to escape from between my lips and now bleeding skin. It hurt, but it was a different kind of pain. It helped me focus. Instead of feeling the emotional tornado from the guilt and sorrow, it was pushed aside as my body felt the physical pain. It was distracting my pain. Interesting...

"Sakura?" A faint call made me shoot up.

I scrambled to the toilet and pushed the lever down. It flushed and I called out emotionlessly, "Give me a moment, please." My new calm and dead voice gave away no emotion, and helped the situation for my case.

"Alright, dear!" Shizune called back, and I turned on the faucet.

Waiting until my hand was free of blood (it wasn't that deep of a bite), I turned the faucet off and washed my hands. I check to make sure I looked presentable and not like I had just burst into tears.

I exited the bathroom with a blank face, only to look into the smiling face of Shizune. Her smiled turned into a grin when she saw me, "Guess who's here to see you, Sakura?"

I had no visitors, not one, since I had woken up. This was new.

"Who?"

Shizune turned to the door, "Come in Mr. Haruno!"

My eyes widened and my pupils shrank. My father? He was here?

A man strolled into the room, and I instant recognized him as my dad. He had messy red (red, not orange) hair, completely disarray, but that was normal. His skin was tanned from his work as a construction man, having to work out side in the sun. His eyes were a dark blue.

"Daddy?" I asked quietly, and he nodded once, his eyes smiling.

I ran into his arms, and he hugged me. His presence helped to smother my pain. He was warm and comforting. Shizune beamed at the both of us, "It's time for you to go home, Sakura. You're father is here to take you now."

_Home...? There's no such thing._

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**Piper: Don't get to homey with Sakura's daddy-dearest.**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND VOTE ON THE POLL!**


	3. Shocked?

**Piper: Hi... Sorry I haven't updated in a long while. I've had a big writers block for this chapter, and I had to update my other story. I don't know how well I'm doing with this story, and I'm getting a bit discouraged. I don't know if I'm very good at writing this. Please don't be mad at me if I take this down and try another story, because I have some great ideas I want to try out, I really do! I've made a vow to myself that I would finish all my posted stories, but I don't know about this one. I don't have a very good response, at least not for right now. I'm just being a cry baby, though.**

**ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! The poll is **_**STILL **_**tied! I asked you guys to break the tie between Itachi and Madara, but you just raised both their votes by 2, lol. Lets try and break it after this chapter, okay?!**

**...I don't own Naruto...**

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Chapter 3 – Shocked?

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**Sakura Haruno**

It was raining once again. I let my eyes follow the trails of the rain against the window, trying to block out the roar of the vehicle I was in. The sound of it made me shake and shiver each time it sputtered an unrhythmical tune. Each time we hit a bump or sank into a random pot hole, my eyes were shut tight as painful flashes of the wreck came to mind. I could feel my numb attachment loosen, allowing me a single emotion. The emotion of fear.

My father seemed oblivious as he hummed happily to the tune of the radio, his hand occasionally finding mine and giving a cheery squeeze. He was happy to have me back. I was happy to have him, too, but a little monster in the back of my head taunted about how I didn't deserve to have him, about how I would end up killing him, just like my mother.

The tightening of fear in my chest eased to nothing when I felt the car come to a shaky halt. I clicked the seat belt lock and let it slide into the car with a loud _whap_. I wrapped two of my fingers around the child safety locks and pulled the little stick-thing up; unlocking it manually my self before my father could even reach the button, and flung myself from the car.

When the bottoms of my black converse hit the wet pavement of my old home's driveway, I felt my numb beginning to return. My blank mask washed over my face as I breathed in the fresh air, not caring that the rain was soaking me. In fact, it soothed me as I felt its drops run through my hair and down my skin.

Chuckling, my father lifted up the hood of his jacket, "Put your hood up, Sakura, you don't want to catch a cold."

I ignored his request and met him at the trunk of his car, both of us taking my luggage. I carried two suitcases, whilst he carried one along with a duffle. My eyes narrowed at the pink, green, and yellow flashes of color on my bags body fabric, and made a mental note to burn them in private later. Bright colors didn't seem very tasteful to my eyes any more.

My father jogged through the rain to the front porch, hanging the duffle off one of his shoulders as he dug around his pocket for the keys he had just placed within them. As he was fishing for his keys, to my surprise, the inside door opened. A woman, looking only about twenty-six or seven, stood behind the screen of the outside door.

Her hair was pin straight and bleached blond, her skin tanned lightly. Her figure was curvy and short. Her face was soft in welcoming, the exact opposite of mine. Who the hell was this?

"Hello, hun," My father grunted as the woman opened the screen door for us, her eyes smiling.

Hun?

The woman smiled at me when I came in, but I could see the shield in her gaze. She was hiding something from me, from my father. And I could tell by the twitchy upturn of her lip that she didn't want me here, just like how I thought she _shouldn't_ be here.

"Sakura, this is Tohru. Tohru, this is my daughter, Sakura," My father introduced, a grin on his face.

Tohru. I tasted the name in my head, and I expected everything inside me to turn sour, just like it did when mom introduced me to Daisuke. Instead, I felt nothing. Nothing at all. I thought a few things in my head about how could my father find a girl friend so soon, expecting it to fuel some kind of anger like it normally would have, but was still met with nothing. My numb was working quite well.

My eyes met hers, and I saw her shiver when she gazed into my endless depths of pain. My body seemed to take control of its own, and a cold upturn of my lips folded onto my features, a small smirk. I nodded to her once, and headed towards the stairs, ready to unpack into my old bedroom.

As I neared the stairs, something shot down them and bumped into me. I was slightly startled, but quickly snapped back as I gazed down at what had run into me. A little girl, hair with the same fake color as Tohru's, with wide blue eyes and round face. I saw her hostile nature hidden within her posture as well.

"Oh! Sakura, this is Miki, Tohru's daughter," My father said from somewhere behind me.

Well, at least it wasn't _his_.

I stared at her with my blank expression, and saw some kind of thinking going on underneath her fake blond ringlet covered head. It created a slight irritated feeling the pit of my stomach, almost as if I had to throw up.

Can't throw up if you haven't eaten, I thought to my self mildly.

"She's been using your room, so...You wouldn't mind having the spare room, would you, Sakura?" My father asked.

You mean the one next to the laundry room, the one that has the walls shaking due to the washing machine and drier leaning up against it? Thanks, father, just what I wanted to come home to. I didn't answer his question, but slid around the little demon girl in front of me and walked up the stairs. I made my way to the spare room, and collapsed inside.

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"My mommy says that she's going to marry your daddy soon."

_Blink._

"She also says that when she does, she's going to ship you off to some school where bad kids go."

_Blank stare._

"Hmph. You're no fun at all," Miki blew a spit bubble at me, and darted off ahead onto the school grounds of the middle school, next to the high school. I didn't let my gaze linger on her, not even caring long enough to watch her cross the street. Little brat has been trying, not succeeding in the least bit, to make me show emotion. I haven't shown any emotion since my break down the day my day came to get me at the hospital, and that was two days ago.

I found out something, though. My safety inside the numb was limited under circumstances. When I had begun to feel the numb retreat and taste my emotions again, I had frantically begun searching for something to retrieve it back. My mind had been reminded of my break down in the hospital, how biting my hand felt. So I did just that. I brought my arm to my mouth and bit, bit down so hard that my arm began to tingle and blood was dribbling from my lips. I was quick to tend to it after my numb reappeared, cleaning the blood and wrapping it.

Now, I had several marks along my right arm, all from my self. My bite mark is slowly beginning to scar, whilst the other marks are either bruises, scabbed cuts, or little cuts that aren't deep enough to bleed.

Thinking about them made them itch against the long sleeve of my neon purple and black horizontal stripped shirt. Its neckline was bunched up and covered most of my neck. I wore black baggy jeans, the knees ripped and the bottoms of them torn from being stepped on. The jeans were held up by a chain belt, its slack hanging against my left leg. I wore black fingerless gloves, covering the fragile material of my palms. I wore dark purple converse, the white toes of them peaking from the bottoms of my jeans. My short hair had been style so that my bangs would come down from the left to the right, covering my right eye completely.

I stared ahead of me, looking at the high school in front of me with a deep impassive look. The school yard before the bell already made me feel disgusted. There were jocks flirting with cheerleaders, showing off whilst the cheerleaders giggled and shrieked. There were the A students, you could tell by their mild attitudes and smiles with their friends. Ahh, the deja-vu of high school clicks and stereotypes, oh how I didn't miss thee.

Walking across the street and into the gates of Konoha High, I had an inkling that something was going to change. Big time.

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**Piper: Sorry! That's all I got, but the Akatsuki should be in the next chapter!**

**Please review, please! I need some feed back to know how I'm doing!**

**And don't forget to vote! The vote needs to be un-tied by the next few days, because I need to know the pairing I'm going to write.**


	4. Alluring

**Piper: Hi guys! **

**I don't own Naruto.**

**MADARA WINS THE POLL!**

**WARNINGS: Cussing.**

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Chapter 4 -Alluring

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**Sakura Haruno**

"Hey~...Goth girl!"

"Tch, look at that face, she thinks she looks so mysterious with her hair in front of her face."

"No, she's just hiding her ugly."

"Then why doesn't she cover the rest of her face?!"

A group of preppy girls burst into shrieks of laughter, piercing my eardrums with their shrill noises. I stopped walking past them, and rolled my shoulders. Time to invoke their fear. I tilted my head down; making my bangs cast dangerous shadows over my eyes. My shoulders hunched, making my posture look more cold and loose-fused. I clenched my hand around the strap of my backpack, the other strap hanging. My other had twitched with out my consent, the want to clench a fist and fling it into those plastic noses making me itch.

I turned around slowly, my visible eye looking at the girls. They noticed my hostile nature and straightened up, their annoying laughter lost with the wind. The leader, a dark red haired girl, took a step forward. She wore glasses with thick black rims, and her hair was the most awkward style I had ever seen. Half of it was straight and proper, whilst the other side was choppy and sticking out slightly. Her hair style looked like it had been done by a child that learned that playing with scissors was bad the hard way. Her skin was a pale tan, which even by that light a shade I could tell it was spray on.

"What, got a problem, goth freak?" She spat, her skirt clad cohorts snickering behind her.

My head snapped to one side fast, creating a loud cracking noise. The girls flinched at the noise, and their faces grew a bit disgusted as I cracked the other side of my neck easily. I looked at them calmly, and examined them. The red head leader had brains and strength, but as I studied her I noticed how she held her self overly proud. She held a bunch of attitude, so much that their must've been and invisible crown on her head labeled 'queen bitch'. She would use her claws as a reliability if she began to loose.

The other was a platinum blonde, a thick strand of her hair covering one of her eyes. It wasn't very good looking, seeing as the rest of her hair was put into a pony tail. It made her bang look off. Her visible blue eye shone with sass, and I instantly knew she was the mouth of the group. She's the one who yelled at their victims, told them how worthless they were. I looked over her once, and knew she had physical strength. She would have to be watched for in a fight.

The last was a girl with black/dark brown hair, with a normal skin color. She had dark eyes, and a very strong looking stature. She was defiantly the real muscle of the group. Her eyes held something sinister, at least as sinister as the eyes of a high schooler could be. She smirked at me, bringing her finger to her neck and dragging her manicured finger nails across her neck in a threatening manner. **(1)**

"Yes," I said smoothly.

The ring leader blinked once, as if not expecting me to talk back, "Yes, what?" She demanded snappily, her eyes narrowing behind her glasses. Her two friends flanked her as she took a step forward. She was taller then me, and a lot more boney then me. She was defiantly all nails and teeth. Like a cat.

"Yes, I have a problem," I said calmly.

Her friends sputter with laughter while the girl smirked, "Obviously, you-"

"I have a problem with your hair," I said, my voice sounding like it was talking about the weather. I knew I had struck something inside her with that comment, a flicker in her eyes telling me her inner demons were being stirred. She opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off, aware that the whole entire court yard seemed to be listening to us, "Who cut it? You? Or a run away toddler with scissors?"

She stiffened as a few kid snickered, and comments began to stir. She looked at me, her eyes shooting death rays in my direction. I stared at her, un-phased. Her high heels clicked as she took another step, much more of a threat put into the motion then before. Her tone was deadly and venomous as she said, "I'll have you know, bitch, that this style is all the rage in-"

"The loony bin?" I guessed with an obvious faux looked of innocents on my face, my eyes childishly wide for the mask I was using. My tone was almost like a child asking for sweets.

The school yard inhabitant's comments began to stir up even more, making the red head snap her head around. Her head mechanically snapped towards me, and the girls behind her took rigid postures. She opened her mouth and her words came out in a dark, deadly tone that might've scared me if I had met her before the wreck, "You trying to act big, huh, pinkie? Listen, it isn't going to work that way. In this school, freaks like you live on the bottom of the food chain. You got that? Or do we have to pound it into you?"

A crooked and creepy smile graced my lips, feeling foreign on my face, "Why should I have to listen to you? I'm my own person; you have nothing over me, Barbie doll."

Her smirk got wider, "You might want to take that back. We can find information faster then facebook stalkers, and we can make your life hell with all of your secrets."

"Secrets?" I asked quietly, looking down, before looking at her, "You mean like how my mother and step father's death was my fault?" It was my trump card. It was true, it was my fault, but I wasn't going to fill in the blanks, making their minds imagine what ever twisted things they pleased, "I was so mad when I found out my mother was having an affair... I guess you can say I got too angry..." I said in a deadly quiet tone, but it was heard easily as everyone had quieted down.

I looked her in the eyes, and walked closer to her. I got close enough, and bent my head to her ear. I opened my lips and breathed out a deadly, venom filled whisper, "Don't make me angry, Barbie doll." I watched with satisfaction as a visible shiver rolled down her spine. I backed away from her, and walked away with a calm posture.

As I began entering the building, I heard her shriek, "This isn't the end, bitch!"

Oh, no, this defiantly wasn't the end, Barbie doll.

* * *

I was surprised to find Shizune in the school office, frantically looking through and filling out papers. As it turns out, she worked as a nurse in the late afternoons, secretary to the principle during the day. She was happy to see me, and I offer her a fake smile to assure any hidden worries she may have about my mental, and physical, health. She talked on for a minute or so, talking about happy she was to see me, whilst I just nodded and said my part when I was needed.

"Alright... I better stop rambling. You will have to retrieve your schedule from the principle, Tsunade. Just go right in, she's talking with some kids, but it'll be alright. Trust me, she's more bark then bite," Shizune motioned me towards the door with a gold plaque stationed in it, engraved into its surface was: _Lady Tsunade_.

I nodded, and opened the door. Inside I saw a group of boys and one girls getting yelled at by a blond haired woman with honey colored eyes. When the door opened completely opened, all eyes looked at me. The woman straightened up, her posture calming slightly. I had a brief study of her before looking at the group. It was a group of eleven **(Tobi and Madara are brothers)**. They looked at me, also giving me an examination. They were mostly clad in black, occasional color standing out.

The woman, who I had thought calmed down, suddenly said bluntly, "Who the hell are you?"

Pleasant.

"Sakura Haruno, I'm here for my schedule," I replied calmly, looking her in the eyes.

She looked at me, holding my gaze just as evenly, before nodding. She walked to her desk, talking whilst she did so, "My name is Tsunade. You shall refer to me as Lady Tsunade. Don't break any school rules, or at least don't get caught, so that I don't have to deal with you being a pain in my butt, got it?" Tsunade asked, walking back across the room, her stiletto heals clicking against the floor, and tossing a schedule into my hands.

"Okay, I won't get caught," I replied smoothly, to which a few in the room smirked at, including the Principle.

Tsunade looked at me, her smirk in place, "I like you, kid."

"You wouldn't if you knew me," I replied, making confusion slip into the atmosphere of the room. Without telling what I meant, I turned around and slid out of the room quietly, the only noise I made the click of the door when it closed. Once out, I nodded to Shizune as my good bye and left the office. Once in the hallway, I looked at my schedule and drifted off to find my locker.

Once I found it, I began practicing the combination before I had in engraved into my mind. Just as I was actually unpacking most of my things into my locker, the warning bell rang. I ignored the rush of students around me, marinating in my numb while it would last. I placed my notebooks, none of which would be used for school notes, mechanical pencils, erasers, and pens into the top shelf of my locker. I took a small picture from my bags and hesitated.

My heart clenched as I gazed at the picture, taken in black and white for the fun of it. My hands trailed along its frayed and slightly ripped edges from being taped and un-taped to different things. It was a picture taken long ago, and it was vaguely like my own "once upon a time..." This item...seemed to be like my own little link to what used to be. It was a picture of me, five years old with an adorable face, choppy pink hair, and my parents. Both of them were happy and holding me close, all three of us smiling into the camera.

I took the edge of the picture, and pressed the top to the cold locker door. I tapped them there, and slammed my door closed. My heart skyrocketed when I saw a boy leaning against the locker next to mine, his form hidden behind my locker door before. His skin was chalky pale, with dull, dark eyes. They held no emotion in them at all, like mine, except mine expressed merely pain instead of dull. His hair was fashion with normal black bangs, but the back part of his hair shot up, fashioned like the butt of a duck. His was wearing a red shirt with the sleeves cut off, showing muscular arms that were folded over his chest. He wore dark blue denim jeans, the knees ripped. Black skater shoes peaked out from the lengths of his pants.

His eyes had been staring ahead, but now that he knew he had my attention his eyes slid to look at me. He opened his mouth, unfolding his arms, "You're the girl that threatened Karin." It defiantly wasn't a question.

Karin. The name rattled in my head, and I made a guess. Barbie doll. My posture stiffened, and I asked coldly, "Who's asking?"

The boy continued to stare, and he spoke again, "Her boyfriend."

Un-phased, I raised my eye brow coldly, "So? You going to threaten me? Beat me up?" I snapped, my voice hard. I watched his face actually flicker with surprise for one second, before it was expertly masked. His eyes trailed over me for a split second, before snapping up to my face, a hint of interest in them.

He replied smoothly, "I was supposed to, but..." He gave me another once over, before dramatically pushing him self off the locker, walking away with his hands in his pockets like he was mysterious and supposed to leave me mystified and wanting to search him out.

Stupid egotistic jerk.

A bunch of girls squealed and swooned as he walked past, making my throat flex with the need to gag. A few of them cried out, "Sasuke-kun~!", and I put name to face. I commit him to memory, marking him as someone to avoid. He wanted me to fall for him, I knew, and that was the exact thing I don't want.

"Not many girls resist my cousin's charm," A smooth, velvety voice came from behind me. **(2)**

I turned around, looking at the boy in front of me. I recognized him as one of the boys in the principle's office when I had got my schedule. He had milky pale skin, smooth and as pale as a ghost. His hair was fashioned very different. His was in choppy, thick spikes in the back, and his bangs were choppy also. A large, thick part of his hair covered his right eyes, while the other part of his choppy bangs hung near the side of his face. His face, all in all, was attractive. I pushed the thought away as fast as it came.

He was taller then me, about six foot, but he was strong looking. He wasn't buffed out or extremely skinny, but right in the middle. His muscles showed easily. He wore a read button up shirt, the sleeves torn off and the top two buttons undone. He wore a silver chain, a weird red and white cloud placed on the pale part of his chest that showed hanging off it. He wore baggy black jeans, held up by a belt. He wore white shoes, a black design over them. On his right wrist he wore a leather cuff, a white skull printed on it.

"Charm? More like arrogance," I replied, watching amusement flicker in his dark eyes.

A deep chuckle came from him, and he said lowly, "Most girls fall head over heels for him."

"Well, I'm not most girls," I replied, a cold tint in my speech.

His eyes flickered, "Clearly."

* * *

**Piper: Sorry, the Akatsuki didn't show up that much, really, but Madara did! Oh, and so you know, I got Madara's description from a picture on a web site. It's www . leafninja . com. Without the spaces. Go to biographies and click 'u', out of the alphabet, and you'll get a list of characters, last name first. Look for Uchiha Madara. His hair is all cool styled in the picture.**

**(1) Kin, the chick from the Forest of Death**

**(2) Don't exactly know what Madara is to Sasuke and Itachi. Uncle, maybe? Meh. What ever he really is, he and Tobi are just going to be their cousins.**

**Please Review!**


	5. Games

**Piper: Sorry, busy weekend!**

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Chapter 5 - Games

* * *

**Sakura Haruno**

I stared at the boy in front of me, wondering who the hell he was. His appearance was appealing to the new, darker side of me, but his presence was not. People leave, people hurt. What ever reason he had for talking to me had to cause a pain on my part, whether intentional or not. Getting closer to someone would strike the possibility of me hurting someone I love once again, or a person I love hurting me. It's happened twice. I basically killed my mother and my father didn't bother to visit me while I was in the hospital, and then shows up into my life again with his new girlfriend and her daughter.

"I have to go," I replied curtly, both of us knowing it was a lie. We still had five or six minutes to get to class.

A smirk touched his lip, his eyes glinting a sinister-like playful emotion, "Now, what kind of gentle men would I be if I didn't offer to walk you to class?" He replied smoothly, reaching forward to take my schedule from my hands. Our fingers brushing briefly, his touch like a whip, quick and painful.

Covering my flinch, I regretfully allowed him to take the paper from my grasp. His eyes scanned the print on the parchment briefly before his smirk seemed to grow. He handed it back, his eyes seeming to smolder something in his emotions, "We have the same first period," He announced, seeming amused by my reaction. My eyes had turned to a glare and my posture had stiffened.

Who ever this boy was he was trying to invade my bubble. I didn't like it one bit.

"Come on," He coaxed as he turned, smoothly gliding into the sea of children.

Taking in a deep breath, I followed reluctantly. I just had to keep my eyes trained on the mass choppy layers of his hair, using them as a metaphorical safety rope as I followed. Eventually, the flow of students began to thin as we continued on our way. Eventually, it was only us plus a few stragglers. Finally, after following him down many hallways in an uncomfortable silence, we stopped in front of a class room. He opened the door for me, smirk in place.

Scowling, I passed him with an intentionally harsh bump of our shoulders. My grip over my things tightened when I heard him chuckle. Why was he so infuriating? Couldn't he see that I didn't want him, or anyone for that matter, around me? Couldn't he tell that I was annoyed and angry with his presence?

The teacher, a male with long black hair and milky white skin and weird yellow-green eyes, turned towards the door. His eyes landed on me and they flickered once, "You must be Missss Haruno," He said, stretching out the 's' of 'miss'. "I am Orochimaru, your study hall and biology teacher. Take a free seat where ever there is one."

"There's a free seat next to me," The boy who had walked me to class breathed deeply behind me, his breath tickling my ear.

A frown made its way to my lips, and I whispered back in a much harsher tone, "No thanks."

I walked to the back row, and sat in an empty seat. Once my butt had touched its surface, a round of whispers began to stir. Kids looked at me, some looking scared and some looking like they were waiting for something. The boy who wouldn't leave me alone walked towards me, sitting in the seat in front of me. He turned around, and explained, "Your sitting in Karin's seat."

"Tough luck for her," I spat at him, glaring.

His lips curled into a smirk once again as he turned around.

My eyes closed shut in the momentary peace I salvaged amongst the sea of whispers and the annoyance that was this attractive, yet annoying, boy. I felt the numb cracking, and panic was seeping through it. I couldn't strengthen it much with my usual tactics, so I just calmed myself. I cast away all emotion and let out a deep breath through my nose. My little silent breathing exercise was cut short when I felt a sharp tap on my shoulder, a manicured nail poking at my covered skin.

I opened my eyes opened, and looked up. I locked eyes with Karin, and I large faux smile came to my face, "Oooh, hey Barbie Doll. This your seat?" I asked, turning my grin down into a small smirk.

Everyone in the class was watching with interest, even the teacher, who looked like he had no intention of preventing any fight if one were to break out.

Karin nodded stonily, her two goonies glaring at me, "Yeah, get up."

I pretended to ponder her request, my eyes drifting to the side as if in thought. After a few seconds of "pondering", I looked at her, "No thank you."

Her fists shook, but she took to sitting in a seat next to the annoying boy who wouldn't leave me alone. Her "friends" sat next to her, smirking at me. I raised an eyebrow at my easy win, wondering what they exactly had planned. I could tell by the surprised faces of my class mates that this Karin chick didn't give up easy, and that would mean that this wasn't over. I had a feeling they would get me back, or try to, for standing up to them.

Fine, let the games begin, Barbie Doll.

* * *

Lunch finally came, after three more school periods. I was tense during each, seeing as those kids I saw in the office wouldn't leave me the hell alone. It was a nice day, so we were allowed to eat outside in the school yard. I choose a spot underneath a large apple tree, snatching a nice looking apple off of it for myself. I put my ear buds in and turned my ipod on, drowning myself into the voice of Bill Kaulitz, the singer of Tokio Hotel.

I took to staring at the grass I sat upon, not thinking whilst I ate my apple. My eyes shut in annoyance when I saw a pair of shoes enter my vision. Sighing loudly in aggravation and annoyance, I glanced up to see the whole crew of my new stalkers. I blinked once, before asking in an emotionless voice, "What?"

"Can we sit here?" A blue haired female who was in my History class, whose name I knew was Konan, asked, completely ignorant of my "get the hell away from me" vibe.

My eyes closed again, and I rested my head against the apple tree, "I don't own the tree or underneath it, so yeah, you can sit here."

The crunching of grass met my ears as the whole group sat down; forming a sort of deformed half circle, almost like they were metaphorically caging me against the tree. I finished the core of my apple and opened my eyes. I spotted a trash can a little ways away and threw the apple core, watching at it smacked into one of the rims and fell into the sea of garbage.

"So, what do you want?" I asked, "You've been pestering me all day. Why?"

"You are very interesting," Zetsu, a boy who was also in my History class who seemed to be split in half, half of his skin pitch black whilst the other white, his eyes yellow and hair green, said in a quiet voice. Not quiet as in shy, but just quiet.

"How so?" I inquired, one eye brow rising.

Konan smirked a little, "Well, for one, not many students come to Konoha High clad in almost all black. Only very few choose to show their colors, dark or not, considering most are either scared of the Preps, or are a Prep themselves."

"Preps?" I asked. Oh, how stereo typical...

"All the fucking happy peppy kids of this hell hole of a school who think they own everything," Hidan, a silver haired purply-pink eyed boy from my Math class said, spitting out cuss words underneath his breath.

"We call them the Preps, because its what they are," Konan said, "They think they all wear crowns on their heads and that they can do what ever they want. The girls are led, or scared into following, Karin. The boys follow Sasuke mostly, Madara's cousin and Itachi's younger brother, even though Sasuke doesn't really dress preppy."

...Eww... I was hit on by the king of preps? Gross.

"What are you guys, then?" I asked, shoving aside my slight sickness at the thought of some preppy boy hitting on me.

Pein, a carrot top with many, _many_, piercings and ringed gray eyes, took over, "Considering the Preps really aren't what they're called, and just a name we made up that fit them, we decided their would be a name to fit us kids who didn't follow them. We are the Rejects. It fits seeing as either we were rejected by the Preps, or we rejected them. However, we are the only Rejects who rejected the Preps, not the other way around. All other Rejects had once longed to be one of the Preps, but failed."

My nose wrinkle as I looked across the lawn, spotting Karin and Sasuke sucking face in middle of the whole school yard. I gagged a bit and turned away, "People want to be like _them_?" I was shocked at the emotion in my voice, mentally slapping my self for letting something out.

The group smirked, and Konan said, "See? This is why we like you. Your like us, you don't _want_ to be like them."

"Well," I said in a fake dreamy tone, "They do have cute clothes."

The group seemed to look at me in slight horror, and I smirked, "Can't believe you fell for that. Please, I would rather gag myself then wear a pink short skirt and hooker boots."

Did...did I just...Did I just crack a joke?

Konan laughed, along with some smirks and chuckles around the circle, and I came to the conclusion that yes, yes I had.

"Madara tells us that you have gym next, yeah," Deidara, a long blond haired blue eyed boy also from my Math class, said, looking at me with his visible eye, seeing as the other was covered by his hair.

Madara was the boy from before, the one who took me to class, yeah, that one.

"Yes," I replied, turning my attention to him.

He smirked, "Get ready for hell, then. It's all of us in that class, along with most of the top preps. And today, is dodge ball day, yeah."

* * *

"Alright, my most youthful students! Today, is dodge ball!" My eye twitched as our gym teacher took another pose, stretching his spandex over certain areas and making them bulge out. He needs some pants.

I felt different after lunch. Everything didn't seem so heavy, like I was lighter and could move more fluidly. My thoughts were on a more positive level, and I could feel my self showing emotion every now and again. I had tried to shove my emotions back, but it didn't work. My numb was almost gone, and I could feel the pain, but it wasn't as intense due to the weightless feeling I now possessed. I would have to study the reason for my happiness later, after I was done nailing Barbie Doll in the face with a rubber ball.

A smirk molded on to my face as Madara and Sasuke were picked as team captains. Madara pointed at me and arched a finger, "Haruno, you're on my team."

I jogged over, my black boy shorts I brought for Gym class swishing against my knees. I could feel Sasuke's gaze on me, and felt relieved that Madara had picked me first. Something told me that if given the chance, Sasuke would have picked me for his team.

Sasuke scanned his choices, before motioning to a blonde haired boy I recognized from my History class, "Naruto."

The boy, whose name I now knew was Naruto, pumped a fist in the air, "Cha! We're so going to win, believe it!"

I began to zone out as Madara called Pein over to our team, getting a bit bored. I stared at the gym floor, thinking about nothing. I was startled when I felt a tap on my shoulder, and a little "Pssst..."

Annoyed, I looked over my shoulder to see that Naruto boy grinning at me, standing only a few inches away, "Hi! I'm Naruto Uzamaki!" He greeted, and I narrowed my eyes. Just glancing over him told me he was preppy, with all his fancy-fancy brand name clothing, and got suspicious. Why would he talk to me, if he knew we came from totally different worlds?

"Aren't you supposed to be over there?" I pointed over to where Sasuke's team was building, my voice emotionless yet again.

Naruto tilted his head to the side, "Well...yeah, but I've never seen you before, so I decided to say hi... I better get going, though! Bye Sakura-chan!" He ran back to his side after a final wave, leaving me a bit shocked. Sakura-chan...?

"That's Naruto," Konan said, making her appearance next to me known, "He's pretty cool, for a Prep."

She went to say more, but jsut then, Gai, our teacher, yelled out, "Alright! Get on your side of the Gym and we'll begin the youthful game!"

The teams separated, and as I was walking to stand in between Konan and Tobi, I caught eyes with Karin. She smirked at me, and drew her manicured finger across her neck in a threatening motion. I smirked back at her, and pounded my fist into my other hand.

One thing I might've forgot to mention was that I used to play on my schools old Dodge Ball Team. Yeah, I was a bit preppy back then, but Dodge Ball relieved a lot of stress and was like my air. If Karin thinks she's going to win, and come out with her make up in place and her nose un-broken, then she's dead wrong, because I like to play dirty.

When Gai's whistle blew, everyone dove forward. I soared across the gym to half court, tossing as many balls on the middle line back to my team as I can. **(1)** I took two for my self and backed away from the line, dodging one that some brown haired boy with pale eyes threw in my direction. I aimed, and threw.

Karin didn't know what to do when a dodge smacked into her gut, except double over in pain. A satisfied smirk crawled on my face, and I arched my stomach inward as a ball thrown by Sasuke whizzed past, missing by inches. I ducked my head to avoid one of Naruto's fly away balls and backed up from the line of fire to recuperate and gain another ball.

"Saku!"

My head snapped in Konan's direction as she tossed me a spare ball she had. I smirked and carefully made my way back up to half court, to the line separating our teams. Karin was back on the court, Sasuke choosing her to come in after catching a ball. She was pretty good herself, nailing Kisame in the arm. Ino, the blond girl who followed Karin around, wasn't that bad, either. She was like a machine, throwing with good accuracy, missing only because our team seemed very good at dodging.

I took my ball and chucked it, cursing when Karin deflected it with her ball and throwing hers at me. I tried to dodge, but it brushed my arm. It was barely noticeable, and I could just cheat and stay on the court, but I stayed truthful to my inner Dodge Ball player and walked towards the benches. My temper rose when I felt the sting of a dodge ball smack into my back. I turned and saw Karin smirking at me, tossing a dodge ball into the air over and over again tauntingly.

Biting back curses, I continued to the bench when I felt someone take my arm. I turned and saw Sasori, holding a ball, "I caught it, you're in, Haruno."

Smirking, I motioned for Sasori to hand me the ball. He did, curious as to whom I was going to throw it at. I sneakily made my way to the front, and chucked it. There was a loud _thwank_ as the rubber ball smacked into Karin's face, sending her to the floor, sprawled out wide. I felt something bubble in my chest unexpectedly, and before I knew it and could stop it, I had my head thrown back, laughing. I couldn't stop my self, and barely wanted to.

Pein, who was watching the whole thing while dodging and throwing, chuckled and gave me a strong pat on the back. I ceased my laughter, smirked, and punched him in the arm. He smirked back, and tossed me a ball.

I looked at my selection, and zoned in on Sasuke. My smirked grew when my ball nailed Sasuke in the throat, an unintentional spot, yet perfect all the same. He looked at me, his eyes still blank, before he smirked. A roll went down my spine, and I scowled at him, failing to dodge a ball thrown by Kin, Karin's other "friend".

What ever kind of smirk that was, I didn't like it.

* * *

Once out of the locker room, I walked over to Konan and the group unconsciously, not even thinking about it. Hidan smirked at me, and lifted his fist up. I pounded it with my own, raising an eyebrow.

"That's for nailing that bitch in the face," Hidan said, satisfaction shimmering in his eyes.

"It was fun," I replied, down from my thrill and my voice more monotone once again.

Konan stepped forward, "Hey, Sakura? You want to hang out with us after school today?"

I thought over what I should do. Hanging with them provided with me with something, I concluded, and it would also offer me the image of a bad seed and trouble maker, making more of an offer of people avoiding me. Then, I thought over what I had to do today and remembered what my dad had said before I had to leave for school with Miki...

_"Make sure you come home right after school, we're going out tonight," My father said as I gathered my things into my backpack. I glanced at him emotionally, before going back to my packing._

_It was quiet for a few moments, before I asked, "Why?"_

_"It's Tohru's birthday, so we're going out to eat," He said, and my posture tensed._

"You're not doing anything important, are you?" Konan asked, looking a bit disappointed at the thought.

I shook my head, "No, nothing important. I'll meet you guys after school."

* * *

**Piper: Done! **

**(1) At my school that's how we play dodge ball. We put the balls on half court and when the whistle blows we run to the line and try to get as many as we can back on our side of the court.**

**SAKURA'S SCHEDUAL AND THE AKATSUKI IN IT:**

**1st Period: Study Hall - Madara, Sasori**

**2nd Period: Math - Pein, Deidara, Hidan, Madara**

**3rd Period: History - Konan, Zetsu, Itachi, Kisame, **

**4rth Period: Biology - Madara, Tobi, Kakuzu, Pein**

**Lunch**

**5th Period: Gym - All of them**

**6th Period: German - Itachi, Tobi, Sasori, Zetsu, Kisame, **

**7th Period: Language Arts: Konan, Pein, Zetsu, **

**8th Period: Art - Deidara, Sasori, Tobi, Madara**

**Please Review, I've been getting a lot of Favorites and those are so awesome, but I would really like to know what you guys think.**


	6. Whirlwind

**Piper: Sorry this is late, like, extremely. But, like I told the readers of my other story, SUMMER TIME IS COMMING! Tomorrow after school, my summer will be here and that means faster, quicker, and better updaters! YAY! I'm so excited to be able to write when ever I want!**

**I don't own Naruto.**

**Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 6 - Whirlwind

* * *

**Sakura Haruno**

I stood in front of the school, shuffling the toe of my black converse against the grassy ground. I skipped my last period, Art, to get some fresh air and was now waiting for the Akatsuki, what my stalkers call themselves, outside of the school. I was standing underneath the apple tree we had eaten under during lunch, a half eaten green apple loosely clutched in my hand.

As I looked on around the empty school lot, I thought how much trouble I would be in once I got home. Dad would start a lecture about how disappointed in me he was because I missed his girlfriend's birthday dinner, with Tohru and Miki in the back round with a faux look of sadness and depression dulling their eyes. He would ground me, and try to send me to my room. The thought of my father emphasizing how much this dinner would've meant to Tohru made my stomach clench, and my face twisted into a snarl.

Surprising me from my thoughts, the school bell rung and I could faintly hear the yells and chatter of kids on the inside of the school. The doors opened and kids pooled out, onto the yard. Their noise followed as groups passed, talking together happily. Some glanced at me, their noise pausing for a few moments until they passed, some taking glances back. Annoyance reached my eyes, and I began glaring at anyone passing by. They scampered past, making a smirk reach my lips.

My eyes narrowed and Karin and her group sashayed past my spot, their noses tilted upward just slightly. Karin's forehead had some kind of welt or bruise from the dodge ball incident, and when I saw it I was sure to let out a snicker. Karin looked in my direction and narrowed her eyes at me threateningly, before turning away and bouncing towards her boy friend, Sasuke, and greeting him thoroughly with her mouth. Gross.

I turned from the kissing preps with great disgust imprinted onto my features as I saw the Akatsuki approaching me. I tossed my half eaten apple into the trash can I had used during lunch, and waited as they approached. Madara smirked, and asked coyly, "Where were you whilst the rest of us wonderful students were in class?"

"We missed you in Art class, yeah!" Deidara added, smirking.

My lip raised into a defensive snarl, "What did you do, memorize my schedule?"

Chuckling darkly, Madara raised his dark eyes to meet mine, his smirk still in place, "Maybe I did."

I let out a small, irritated sigh and looked at Konan, "Where are we going?"

She smiled, "There's a small carnival thing a little ways outside town. It's the last day so everyone else is pretty carnival-ed out, so it'll be pretty empty. When ever we have these long events we always go on the last day, knowing that we'll be able to spend most of it with out people. There are some others, but not as much as usual."

I nodded, and we began to make our way towards the parking lot. Hidan pulled out some car keys, as did Madara. My eye brow rose slightly, seeing their cars. Hidan had a black truck, with big wheels. There was red spray paint all over it, and I was able to make out 'Jashin', 'Akatsuki', and a few other words. Madara had a sleek, black car with black tinted windows. It was shiny and as dark as the midnight sky. However, it, unlike Hidan's, was completely untouched and brand new looking.

"We usually ride in the back of Hidan's truck and Madara follows. They're both old enough to drive, and drive us, but Madara doesn't let anybody in his car," Konan said as Pein helped her into the back of the truck, having already hefted himself up.

An arm swung around my shoulders, and I was pulled into a strong tone chest, and warm breath tickled my ear as Madara spoke, "I'll make and exception. Sakura can ride with me."

My eye twitched in annoyance, and I tugged myself from his grasp. I turned to face him and replied smoothly, "No thanks, I'll take the truck."

Madara's smirked turned amused, and he gestured with an arm, "All full."

I turned, and to my extreme displeasure, he was right. The Akatsuki took up the whole back, even with Kakuzu sitting in the front with Hidan. Cursing loudly, I stormed over to Madara's car and flung the passenger door open. Sliding my self onto the cool, white, leather seats, I shut the door behind me. Madara got in on the other side, chuckling deeply to himself at my attitude. He turned the key and the engine roared to life as the dash boards lights flashed on with bright colors. A cool air came from the vents on the sides of the dash board and in the center of it, leaving all the humid and sticky air out side the car.

Letting out a small breath through my nose, I sank deeper into the seats calmly.

Madara chuckled once again, his eyes trained at the front as he began to back out of the parking spot his car had rested in, "Shouldn't you be wearing a seat belt?"

"Shouldn't you?" I said back, emotionless as ever now that I was relaxed.

He only shook his head, and I had to take notice as the many spiked up layers of his hair moved almost individually. It didn't look greasy or hard from hair spray, and despite how hard it was to believe with the length of his spikes, they must've naturally stuck up that way. My eyes loosely slid over to his face, and I mentally slapped myself.

What was I doing? I refused to believe that I had been checking him out; stubbornly casting away the thought away as I metaphorically pulled my blanket of numb over my head and looked towards the window. Only after ten seconds of silence in my thoughts, I heard the leather shift next to me as Madara leaned forward, his fingers grasping the radio knob. My eyes widened, and my face grew miserable as he turned to knob on and that familiar static filled the car...

_I heard Daisuke chuckle, and I snapped. My arm extended from the back seat, and as soon as my finger grazed the radio knob, I twisted it hard. The radio crackled to life and gave a terrifying screech, so loud my ear drums began to throb, and I was in the back seat. Daisuke covered his ears with a groan, and my mother's car swerved. I let the noise last for five more seconds before flipping the radio down._

Madara cursed under his breath at the noise and I tossed my hands to my ears, covering them as a painful throb beat in my chest. I let out an angry, pained noise, something similar to: "Turn it _OFF_!" I continued to painfully cover my ears, resorting to grinding my teeth together to drown out the sound until Madara managed to find a station.

Carefully, I lifted my hands from my ears, glaring at Madara, daring him to say something at my... unique... reaction to the static. He was quick to focus back on the round, his mouth in a thoughtful line, his eyes cloudy. He asked in a strange tone, "Sensitive ears?"

Biting back the truth, I managed to ground out in my usual unnaffected tone, "Something like that."

The rest of the ride was in silence, the only noise was the radio. At familiar songs, I would mouth the lyrics to my self, sometimes allowing them to come out in a quiet whisper. I never sang, though. I wasn't good at singing, but like most younger girls I had once had the dream to be a famous singer when I was younger. My mother had the balls to tell me the truth and reality of it all, explaining how my voice wasn't like the women who sang on CD's and on the TV. In a way, I'm glad she did. No point in chasing after a dream you could never even hope of touching, let alone grasping in your hands.

My thoughts broke as Madara slowed, parking in a grassy lot, one that was obviously used for the carnival and the parking lot. A few rows of cars down you could see stands and rides peaking out here and there. There weren't that many cars, plenty, but not as much as you would expect to see here.

I stretched my sleeping muscles once out of the car, before walking over to Hidan's car to join the rest of the group. Konan smiled at me, and met me half way. She tilted her head suddenly, and asked, "You have money, don't you? For tickets?"

Nodding, I pulled my wallet from my pocket, a silver chain connecting it to my jeans through the loop on the right side. A couple characters of the group smirked at me, finding it humorous that, despite my being a girl, I had a wallet that wasn't pink and girly.

Konan laughed, and pulled out her own little black wallet, "Guess we're the only girls at Konoha high who don't like hiking around a purse all day."

"It's pointless," I commented, sliding my wallet back into my pocket. "when a wallet is so much easier."

Deidara leaned over my shoulder, his showing blue eye shining with amusement, "Don't most girls use purses to carry their tampons in, yeah?"

Choking on a chuckle at the comment, I smirked darkly, "I don't need those."

The group looked at me odd as we began to walk towards the entrance of the carnival. I sighed, "I was in an accident a while back. That's why I wear these gloves, because my hands were severely burned and the palms of my hands are too fragile to really be left in the open. Other than a few more scratches and burns, I had the get my ovaries taken out."

Konan frowned, "That's terrible."

My eyes looked at the trampled grass I walked upon, and I muttered softly, "You don't even know half of it..."

* * *

Once inside the carnival with a couple rolls of tickets we had bought by adding a small amount of each of our wallets to a pile, everything was much more alive. People walked past, happy and smiling. They were all having fun without a care in the world. There were also many children, giggled and shrieking. I couldn't stop the small upturn of my lips and the weak emotion in my eyes as I spied a father walk past, his daughter perched on his shoulders as she cooed and aww'ed at the lights, games, rides, and prizes, doing all whilst happily eating from a bag of blue cotton candy.

"Sakura?"

I turned, my usual expression in place, as I looked at Kisame, who had called my name. I raised an eyebrow in question, and he grinned, pointing to a ride. It was a ride that had three main parts that spun around, but connected to the three parts were three other separate branches on each part, each holding a two person seat. The three main parts would spin, whilst the branches would spin another way, and the seats would turn what ever direction gravity took them.

Konan linked her arm with mine, "I'll ride with you."

Nodding, I followed her as the whole group moved towards the small line. Kisame and Itachi were going to sit together, as were Pein and Madara. Deidara and Sasori would take a seat, and so would Hidan and Kakuzu. Tobi and Zetsu didn't ride, for Tobi was terrified of them and Zetsu was just plain uninterested.

We gave the man our tickets and got into out own seats. Konan and I sat down and pulled the safety bar down to our laps till it was pressed snug against us and locked.

I waited patiently, my eyes closed peacefully. I felt nothing at the moment, at least not on the inside. Everything was numb, just like I wanted. But as I felt the seats lift a foot or two as the ride began, my eyes opened and the thrill I never knew I could have began. We began to spin hectically, and Konan laughed in excitement as she slid against the seat, into my side. She threw her hands up happily, and I couldn't help but envy her free spirit, the way she laughed and smiled. Shyly and slowly, I smiled, before I was soon laughing occasionally as we hit sudden turns on the ride. I slid into Konan with a chuckle as we span around, my feelings to high to reach and to high to care about. I was free for this moment, and I lived in it the best I could in my state of mind.

Once the ride ended, I was calm once again, with a small acceleration to my heart beat and a little bounce in my step. Tobi bounced over to us, Zetsu calmly following.

"Tobi found something that Tobi wants to do!" Tobi said excitedly, jabbing his finger over his shoulder excitedly.

We all looked, and found ourselves staring across the way at a Haunted House ride. I raised an eyebrow at him, "I thought you didn't like rides."

"He doesn't," Madara said, "But he does love a good scare."

Tobi nodded, his mask slipping slightly. He pushed it back up and one dark eye looked at us hopefully through the one eye hole on his mask.

We all agreed, much to Tobi's delight, and we made our way to the ride.

* * *

It was dark outside now, lanterns strung above our heads dimly glowed with bright colors. I had checked Pein's watch and it said it was now going on nine. We were preparing to leave after a day of rides, junk food, and the usual carnival things. We were taking our good time, though, walking back through slowly as we looked around tiredly. All the lights and colors were much brighter now that they could illuminate the darkness, and it was something nice to see after a few weeks of darkness.

"Wait," Madara said, making us all stop and look towards him. He was eyeing one of those 'knock-the-bottles-over' games.

He began to walk towards it and I lurched forward, grasping his arm. "Don't you know those kinds of games are rigged?" I hissed at him lowly, wondering about his stupidity.

Madara only smirked, gently pulling his arm from my grasp. He paid the man behind the counter with a couple of our last tickets, and took a ball. I sighed in annoyance, and looked away. He wasn't going to win-... My thoughts were cut off when I heard the sound of bottles moving. I spun around in surprise, seeing the man reluctantly handing Madara a prize of his choice. I stared at the pile of bottles he had hit, and saw that they had been rigged, having some kind of dried glue on the bottoms and some thin, wooden sticks glued to the back to keep them together. As I looked closer, I saw the Madara had some how managed to hit it hard enough for the glue to crack and the wood to snap.

Madara approached with a smug air around him, and I glared as he smirked at me. He reached forward, and I hissed in protest when he took my hand in his. Ignoring my protest easily, he pulled up his hand and curled my fingers around the arm of a black teddy bear, a heart patched to its chest.

"You have to be kidding me," I said dryly, bring the bear closer to look at it.

I heard Hidan, Kisame, and Deidara burst out laughing behind us, and I could feel the smirks of the rest of them.

"You take him. You won him," I said, trying to hand the bear back.

Madara shook his head, his hair swaying with him, and with a smirk he pushed the bear into my chest, making me wrap an arm around it, "You keep it. You already gave it a gender."

Opening my mouth to retort, I found nothing to say. Irritated and pissed, I stubbornly looked away with the bear clutched to my chest. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Konan smirking at me. My glare focused on her, and she only laughed, shaking her head at me.

"Hey, stop fucking flirting with the newbie and let's get the hell outta here!" Hidan shouted, drawing some disapproving stares because of his language.

Kisame and Deidara snickered at Hidan's comment, whilst I merely brushed it aside. What the hell ever.

We began to walk towards the front of the carnival again, a faster pace then our slow saunter that we had been doing before. I let my thoughts drift to the events to be held once I got home, and felt a smirk curve my lips slightly. I let out a chuckle and announced to them, "I'm going to be in so much trouble when I get home."

They group looked at me, and I explained, "It was my step-mothers birthday today and I was supposed to go out with my father, her, and her daughter to go celebrate it at some restaurant."

Konan looked at me, startled, "I thought you said that you didn't have anything important to do!"

I scoffed, "You think my soon to be step-mother counts as something important?"

* * *

**Piper: Dun dun dun dun... what wait for Sakura when she gets home?**

**Please review, and thanks for reading!**


	7. Scream

**Piper: Summer is here! Thanks for being so patient for me and my updates, but they should be better now!**

**Oh, I wanted to clear something up that's been on my mind for a while. Sakura's dad still owns the same house that she lived in as a child, but Sakura never went to Konoha High. Instead she went to a Suna when she was younger, only a half-hour drive away from Konoha.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

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Chapter 7 - Scream

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**Sakura Haruno**

I had Madara drop me off at the school once we reached town, refusing his offer to drive me home. I began to head towards my father's house, holding the teddy bear that Madara had won limply in my left hand. I drug my feet against the side walk, taking my good time. I knew what was going to happen once I entered my home, so why not just delay everything for a little while longer? My father's lecture and groundings were still going to come, no matter how late I was.

A smirk curved my lip. I wonder if they waited up for me, finally giving up and just going by them selves. I wondered who cried fake tears, Miki or Tohru. Who told my father how much it would've meant to them if I would've been there? Probably Tohru. I would just stare as my father would yell at me, my mind far off in a distant land were everything was like it should be. Mom would be alive and married to dad and I would have a normal life...

My head tilted up once I was in front of my own house, staring at its windows. The lights were on and it was almost eleven o'clock at night. Oh, yes, I was defiantly in trouble. I stood still for a moment, unsure of what to do. For a moment I just wanted to run away, and not face the face of my disappointed and angry father. Another part of me wanted to go in and yell right back, already having the perfect counter to all of his words in my head.

I chose the latter of the two, squaring my shoulders and solidifying my expression into an emotionless mask. I took a first step, before finishing the rest of the way to the house in a defensive stride. I took my key from my key chain that was attached to my pocket chain; the one linked to my wallet, and unlocked the door. I opened it, and stepped inside. My father and Tohru looked at me as I stepped inside, and I completely ignored them as I closed the door.

"Sakura," My father's voice was hard and stern, "Didn't I tell you this morning we had plans?"

My eyes found his, and I gave him the most apathetic look I could muster. A comment burned on the tip of my tongue, but I held it back. Anger was an emotion, and it was the last thing I wanted, despite my decision to face my father. I took in silent, deep breaths through my nose to try and calm my feelings to a nothing and strengthen what little numb I had after a day full of unwanted emotions.

"Answer me!" He said, standing up.

"You had plans," I said quietly, looking him straight in the eyes.

He blinked once, before asking harshly, "What do you means 'I' had plans?"

My father honestly seemed to want the truth out of me. If that was what he wanted, then it was what I would give him. But, before I could reply a sleepy voice came from behind, "Big sister?"

I made a face, turning around to see Miki looking at me with big blue eyes. A smile, fake and plastic, made its way to her face as she rushed over, almost tripping over her nightgown. She threw her arms around me, "You came home! See, I told you!" She cried at my father and her mother.

My mood turned sour at her usage of me, playing the cute card to get me in more trouble. Considering she was only a little girl, despite the evil she obviously contained, I only pushed her lightly. Only enough to get her to let go. Once I had the demon detached from my waist, I faced my father, "She is your girlfriend. That is _her_ daughter. I have no connection to them what so ever. They were _your_ plans, not mine." I said darkly, ignoring Miki's crying about how I didn't love her.

My fathers face twisted as Tohru gasped slightly.

"To your room, now!" He shouted, pointing a hand towards the stares.

I replied smoothly to his order, "You mean the room you gave to your girlfriend's daughter, the room that used to hold all of my childhood memories and belongings? Or the cruddy little shit hole you offered me after you replaced me and mom?"

My father sputtered as Tohru covered Miki's ears, as if that would block out the temporary use of my fowl language. My father began to form a reply, when I interrupted, "Who am I kidding? I should've known... I should've known that you would've moved on, moved on to try and rekindle your own happiness... Why am I so selfish?" My mood suddenly changed, the last part of my words muttered to myself quietly.

Who was I to interfere with the new life he was trying to create? Who was I to try and destroy his life also? I already murdered my mother, why should I begin to break him down just like I had her? I didn't deserve his fatherly attention anyway.

I back away as my father tried to approach, his face softer then before. Something foreign to me leaked form the corner of my eyes. Surprised, I reached up slowly. My finger stopped something wet from trailing down my cheek. I pulled back my hand, and looked at the moisture on my finger with surprise cracking my numb facade. Tears. I hadn't shed tears since the day I woke up from the accident, a month or so ago.

"Sakura," My father murmured.

I shook my head wildly and bolted for the front door. I heard my father yell my name as the screen door slammed shut behind me, but I didn't care. I ran down the path way and took a left, running down the side walk. I continued to run, despite the hurtful pull of my calves and the shortness of my breath. I ran to a familiar place I hadn't been to since I was a child - the park.

My breath came out in sharp gasps when I had finally stopped in the center of the park. I bent over, placing my hands on my knees. I let my self fall onto my butt, sitting Indian style in the grass, my breathing still limited. My eyes were strained and sparkling with unshed tears. I let out a small, breathless laugh at how pathetic I was. I rubbed the tears away before they could fall, and sat there, waiting for my breath to catch up.

I sat in silence for a good five minutes, keeping my mind blank. It looked around at all the park equipment for kids to play with. The moon light was the only light around, so I couldn't see much of anything despite its brightness.

"I didn't know you were a hobo, yeah."

I looked over my shoulder, only to see Deidara and Sasori standing behind me. They sat on either side of me while I mumbled unhappily, "I'm not a hobo..."

Deidara looked at me, scrutinizing my expression, "So, why aren't you at your house, yeah?"

"Are you guys seriously stalking me or what?" I snapped, leaving his question unanswered.

Sasori shook his head, "No, you ran past our house. We were on the porch when we saw you run by."

I raised an eyebrow, "You live together?"

Deidara nodded, "Sasori's my adopted brother, yeah."

Our conversation simmered to nothing after I nodded to his statement. All three of us sat in the darkness of night, a soft wind blowing by. it was almost too quiet for my tastes, and I longed for them to start talking to each other or something, for the silence was far to awkward for my liking. We had sat there for almost ten minutes in silence, before Deidara got up and brushed the back off his pants off. Sasori followed his lead, standing also. They both looked at me.

"Well, yeah? C'mon, you can stay with us if things are a bit harsh at your house," Deidara said, holding his hand out to me.

I stared at his hand for a moment, before taking it in my gloved one. He pulled me two my feet and let my hand down as he and Sasori started to lead me out of the park and towards their house.

* * *

"Here you go, hun, I hope this fits." Deidara and Sasori's mother was a kind woman with slightly tan skin, big blue eyes and wavy brown hair that reached her waist. She was very nice, and was lending me a pair of her shorts and a shirt to wear for the night, having already let me take their couch for the night.

I murmured a small thanks and slipped into their bathroom. I changed quickly and put my clothing into a plastic bag that their mother had also provided me with. I made my way out of their bathroom, which was on the second floor of their house, and made my way down stairs. Sasori and Deidara were sitting on their couch, both in pajama bottoms with wife beaters on. I placed my bag of clothes next to the couch and sat in between the two. I sighed and looked at the clock on their wall, seeing it was around twelve thirty at night.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sasori asked suddenly, making me look at him.

I shook my head, closing my eyes for a moment, "I'd rather not."

They nodded in understanding and stood, allowing me to have the couch. I lied down; resting my head on the pillow I was given. I pulled the blanket up to my shoulders and gave Deidara a blank look, for he was the only one still in the room considering Sasori was already making his way up the stairs. I raised an eyebrow at him and he grinned.

"Goodnight hobo, yeah!" Deidara snickered, bolting up the stairs as I scowled after him.

* * *

**Piper: This one really did kinda suck, but I'm going to write some more soon. Please review!**


	8. Hobo?

**Piper: Hi guys! Oh man, I got so stuck writing this chapter and the chapter for my other story. Hopefully my hysteria isn't sucking out my creativity, 'cuz I've been staying up super late.**

**WARNINGS: Cutting.**

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Chapter 8 - Hobo?

* * *

**Sakura Haruno**

I woke up to see a black _thing_hanging in my face, and was sleepily aware that it was the black bear that Madara had won and forced me to take. I reached up slowly and sleepily, taking its soft fur into my covered palms. He was more warm then normal, confusing me slightly. I held him to my chest, allowing the bear to be a small bit of warmth and comfort for my heart.

A deep voice chuckled, and I cracked one eye open once again to see Deidara sitting in the chair next to the couch, fully dressed. Sasori was sitting on the floor in front of him, texting on his phone.

"We remembered seeing you with the bear at the park and noticed you didn't have him. We went and got him this morning, but he was kinda damp with dew, yeah. Our mom put him in the drier for a little bit," Deidara said, explaining the bear's extra warmth.

I looked down at the bear, who was staring at me with lifeless brown-black eyes. I looked back at Deidara, "Thank you."

Sasori suddenly snapped his text board up, and told me tiredly, "Konan is going to bring you some fresh clothes so that you don't have to go home."

Suddenly, I felt like a burden. They were doing all these things for me, and I didn't deserve any of it. I killed my own mother and her boyfriend. I was a killer, and here I was taking their hospitality like someone who _did_ deserve it. I felt my heart swell with emotion and winced to myself. I needed to get rid of it, quick. I stood up and dropped the bear on the couch, excusing myself to the upstairs bathroom. Once safely inside, I locked the door and let out a pained breath, feeling my heart's painful throb in my chest.

I rifled through my bag until I found my jeans. I opened up many of the zipper pockets, until I found what I was looking for. I carefully pulled out a small razor, placing it on the counter. Next followed a tiny roll of wraps. I took the razor in my hand and rolled up the pants legs of the short Deidara and Sasori's mom had so kindly lent me and began to create my own blanket of numb once again, molding it from the physical pain and wrapping it around my head and heart. I kept the blood over the sink, having sat on top of the counter to do my crafting.

My thoughts began to drift as the skin on my thighs leaked crimson, and wondered about a few things. Was I really doing this to make myself feel numb, or was I doing it because it felt better then real pain? Was I doing it so that I could see my physical scars instead, and eventually forget about the mental ones that still managed to inflict pain even though I had no idea how or when they got there? Maybe it was a reminder to myself, about how nobody would love something broken, something who had killed her own parents.

I couldn't tell. I was too confused to even think straight, and just went back to cutting in silence.

After Konan and the rest of the Akatsuki had arrived, I had my new cuts bandaged up and my shorts hiding the bandages. I took the bag of clothes Konan provided with a nod and went to the bathroom to change. I looked around the bathroom, just double checking that I had gotten rid of all my blood, and felt only slightly guilty that I had done that in Deidara and Sasori's mother's home, after she had been so kind. The numb quickly cleared every drop of that emotion, and I changed.

Now, I was clad in red skinny jeans, a black camisole, and a black and red checkered jacket. I combed through my hair, using the brush Konan let me barrow. I slipped on my converse, and headed back down stairs. I had to walk uncomfortable due to the skinny jeans rubbing against my cut up, still bandaged, thigh. I couldn't limp, or they'd ask what wrong. I just let the pants and bandages rub, covering my discomfort with my usual mask. I knew that by the end of the day I would have a terrible, bloody rash there. I probably deserved it.

"Oh! They fit, good," Konan sighed as I came down the stairs, the Akatsuki watching with mixed expressions.

I nodded, "Yes, thank you. I'll give them back tomorrow."

Konan shook her head, "No, you keep them. I don't really fit into those any more."

Guilt started to swell, so I shifted my leg so that a sting of pain would shock my thigh and my guilt, letting my inner darkness swallow it up. After all of us grabbing a small breakfast from Deidara and Sasori's mother, we headed outside to the cars. I decided not to argue or cause a fuss today, and just seated myself into the passenger seat of Madara's car.

He got in chuckling, "Seems your already used to me."

I scoffed lightly, but said nothing. I decided to keep it to myself that the bear that Madara gave me was in my bag of clothes, which I would have to stick in my locker once at school. That damn little bear had already grown on me some how, what with my emotions. I thought about what I would do with it, and if I would name it. I quickly dismissed those thoughts as we neared the school grounds. We parked next to Hidan's truck and got out.

"Look at his truck, some one must've really messed it up," One pack of girls snickered to each other obnoxiously, talking about the spray paint job the Akatsuki did to Hidan's truck. Oh, no, despite my want for the numb I wasn't going to take any shit today. I was defiantly in a bad mood.

I turned to them with a snarl in place, making them draw back, "It's supposed to be like that you dolts."

One of them sneered back, "Well, it looks like shit."

"So does your nose job, but you don't see me making fun of its lopsided nostrils, now do you?" I hissed, eyes flashing as rage stirred around in my stomach like a giant mixing pot.

The girl shrieked and threw her hands to her nose, and I turned back to the group with my mask back in place. Hidan threw his head back and laughed, throwing his arm over my shoulders. I looked at his arm, and then at him, before sighing. Konan giggled a little, throwing her fist out for mine to bump, "That was fun!"

It kinda was, actually.

* * *

I think that my new favorite time of day is after lunch, during gym class. Now suited up in my black knee length gym shorts and black shirt, I was holding a baseball bat in my hands under the heat of the sun. I took a stance and readied the bat, and swung as the ball came at me from Sasuke Uchiha's hand. The ball cracked against the bat, and much to my luck and amusement it smacked Karin in the head. She has bad luck with that.

The teacher paused the game and most of the class rushed over to go check on Karin, whilst the Akatsuki and I just stood where we were on the school's baseball field, most of us laughing at the face Karin made when the ball hit her. I stood there, arms crossed with a satisfied smirk on my face. Hitting her seemed to be some kind of stress relief.

"You're good at sports, yeah," Deidara chuckled, watching as Sasuke lifted his girl friend into his arms and began to hike her fat ass towards the school.

"If not sports, at least aim," Itachi commented lowly, watching his brother a very small amount of amusement in his eyes.

I snorted, and turned back as the game began. Gai shouted a few things about how youthful our game spirit was but how it was not very youthful to injure our fellow classmates. We all just ignored his rant, and waited until it was time to go back inside and get changed.

Once Art finally swung by, we were drawing in a mild silence, everyone in the calls chatting a little to their neighbors. I was silent, listening dully as Tobi, Madara, Deidara, and Sasori talked to each other. A sudden question that was thrown in my direction made me glance up.

"What?" I asked, not hearing the question the first time.

"Are you going home tonight, yeah?" Deidara asked again, looking at me curiously.

I bit my lip. I didn't want to go home and face my father and Tohru. I didn't want to hear what he had to say any longer, and I didn't want to hurt him any longer. I didn't want to be the reason for his unhappiness, and I didn't want to be the reason for his.

"You can stay with us, Sakura-chan!" Tobi said, hugging me tightly.

Huh. Maybe Deidara was right. Maybe I am a hobo.

* * *

**Piper: (smacking head against keyboard) STUPID-(smack)-STUPID-(smack)-STUPID! Writers block is plaguing me!**

**Review please!**


	9. Turns to Dust

**Piper: Hello!**

**I don't own Naruto.**

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Chapter 9 - Turns to Dust

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**Sakura Haruno**

It didn't take long for me to realize that Madara and Tobi lived by themselves. Only a few seconds after entering their nice apartment, actually. They had a kitchen and a living room, and a hallway that must've lead to the bedrooms and bathroom, I guessed. My eyes gazed over their furniture and decor, whilst Tobi dropped his backpack onto a recliner chair and flopped onto the couch, putting his hands behind his head. Madara traveled to their kitchen, mumbling something about starting dinner.

I placed my book bag into the recliner with Tobi's and sat down on the carpet, in front of their center coffee table. Tobi eyed me with his visible eye, "Does Sakura-chan like it?"

"Yes," I muttered, watching as he grabbed the television remote from the table and flicked on the large electronic. I vaguely wondered how they paid for all of these nice things, from the nice apartment down to the extremely clean white carpet, a carpet they most likely didn't clean themselves. I moved my sock covered foot against the soft carpet in thought, before looking at Tobi.

"Can I use your phone? I have to call my dad to tell him I'm safe, at least. It'll keep him out of my hair for a while," I said, thinking about how normally it wouldn't have kept my father out of my hair, if anything it would've made him look for me even more so, but he had Tohru and Miki now.

Tobi tilted his head to the side, before nodding. He reached over the couch arm and pulled their home phone off its cradle, handing it back to me. I rose from my spot on the carpet, and said quietly, "I'm gunna go talk in one of the rooms in the back, alright?"

Once I got confirmation, I left the living room through the hall way. I chose a random room and slid inside. The room was pretty dark its self, the bed comforter and pillows black. The walls were painted red, and the carpet was also black and plushy feeling. It had a desk on one side, away from the curtain blocked windows. There was a dresser next to a closet door, one of the dresser drawers slightly open with a white sleeve hanging out. There were band posters all over the walls, most those violent screamo bands from what I could tell of their appearances and stances in the large photos, but some were of hard rock bands I was familiar with. As I walked into the room, dodging the occasional sock or shirt thrown on the floor, I noticed one of those old style black and white guitars sitting in the corner as I sat myself onto the bed.

When I was done room gazing, I dialed my home number and lifted the phone to my ear. I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth idly as I listened to the phone ring. I almost screamed with relief when I got the answering machine, but straightened up and cleared my throat before the beep, and began, "Hi, Dad... It's Sakura; I just wanted to tell you that I'm not going to be coming home for a while. I'm staying with some friends, and I'm going to school, so you don't have to worry about me. I might come by to get some of my clothes, but that's probably it. Unless you've already let Tohru throw my stuff out... Don't bother calling this number, because I most likely won't be staying here by the time you get this message."

I pressed end and dropped the phone onto the bed beside me, sighing. I shifted slightly, and winced as my pants rubbed against my thigh. I pulled on the jeans a bit, trying to get it resituated on my thigh. It was deemed impossible, and I let out a pain filled sigh.

* * *

"I didn't know you could cook," It was an awkward conversation starter, just so that I could be rid of the silence. It had been slightly irritating and uncomfortable, the only noise in the kitchen the scrape of silverware against out food filled plates. I could tell it was uncomfortable, even for them, as Tobi had begun to quietly hum to himself after the first ten minutes.

Madara looked up at me from his plate, raising an eyebrow, "What made you believe I couldn't?"

"You're a teenage boy," I replied in a monotone, making him smirk. I ignored it and question with little interest, "Why did you learn?"

"I'm a teenage boy," He replied smoothly, "If I don't cook, who will? Tobi won't."

I raised an eyebrow at Tobi, who was sinking further down his seat in embarrassment, "Why won't Tobi?"

Madara chuckled lowly at his younger brother, "He almost burned the apartment down. Father was mad that he had to pay for all the damages."

My attention went back to him, truly interested, "Your parents? They don't live here?"

"Only Tobi and Madara's father is still living, Sakura-chan," Tobi interrupted, "And father has business in many different countries, so he can't take care of Tobi and Madara without making us travel with him, so Tobi and Madara live away from him to go to school here."

A sudden twist in my stomach made me look down at my plate, suddenly disgusted at the thought of food, "I'm sorry." I said quietly, but I don't think that they were quite sure of what for, for Tobi tilted his head to the side on confusion as Madara raised an eyebrow.

"Your mother. I'm sorry, I know what its like," I said quietly, stirring my rice around the plate.

Tobi leaned forward in his seat as Madara blinked once in surprise, "Sakura-chan doesn't have a mom?"

I was quiet as my mind was suddenly assaulted with memories. I clenched my silverware in my hands, gritting my teeth as I fought back tears. A terrible feeling washed over my numb, consuming me. It was a dark feeling, one that always nagged you on the edge of your mind at the wrong time, always reminding you of why it was there as you almost peacefully forgot it. My stomach lurched suddenly, and I stood abruptly. I quickly excused my self and ran for their bathroom.

Not even thinking of closing the door, I threw myself over the toilet as my stomach forced its self empty. My throat burning and stomach cramped, I ripped some squares of toilet paper from the roll near by to wipe the sick from my mouth. Nasty. I dry heaved for a moment, looking away from the toilet in disgust. When my throat and stomach finally quit, I sat on my legs for a moment, my head dizzy. I closed my eyes, trying to calm my head and get some fresh air into my lungs.

I didn't move when I felt a hand on my shoulder, and only frowned slightly when Madara's voice said in a slightly joking tone, "I didn't think that my cooking was that bad." I knew it was his own little way of trying to make me feel better, and even though he was pretty bad at it I felt slightly better, knowing that someone was there.

Madara placed his arm under the bend of my knees and around my shoulders, picking me up bridal style. I let my head fall onto his chest, knowing that I would probably hate myself for showing weakness to him later. I was lost in a complete nothing for a few moments, the only thing I was able to feel were his arms around me and his chest beneath my head. The only thing I could hear was his breath and the thump of his heart. Suddenly his arms were replaced by soft blankets, his chest replaced by a soft pillow.

My eyes fluttered once in an attempt to open, but gave up as my whole body was persuaded into a deep sleep with the comfort surrounding, comfort I didn't get often, not that I asked for it.

* * *

I sat on the counter of the bathroom, carefully un-bandaging my thigh after I woke from a nightmare in the middle of the night. Turns out I had been sleeping on Madara's bed, for he had been sleeping on the floor. My bandages had been rubbing from my position so I decided to unwrap them and take a look at the damage done.

My face turned into a grimace as I got the bloodied bandages peeled from my skin, my thigh an ugly, bleeding rash. The pale skin of my thigh was tainted with red splotches and crusty cuts. I turned the faucet on, using my hands to rub away some of the blood and sooth my aching skin with cold water. I used a wad of toilet paper to dry it, carefully dabbing my wounds and rash.

"So, this is what you've been hiding from us."

I hadn't heard the bathroom door open, and I certainly hadn't heard Madara enter until he spoke.

* * *

**Piper: This one was short, but I hadn't been able to really stack it up with anything...**

**Please review!**


	10. Roses Are Red

**Piper: I want to apologize to all of you who read this story. I realized today that I have not been putting good effort with this story, and I'm sorry. I will try harder now, and try and put full potential into this story. I will admit that I was discouraged at first, but that's no excuse for me to give you half-assed (sorry for my language) chapters. Please forgive me, and I hope this chapter will try and help you forgive.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

**WARNINGS: **Violence, Blood.

* * *

Chapter 10 - Roses Are Red

* * *

**Sakura Haruno**

My head fell, and my body curled around to shadow my thigh and cuts from view. My breath was caught, and I couldn't speak I was so tongue tied. My face twisted behind the shadows of my hair, different emotions masking me in turns. First, it was cold fear, sparking down my spine like an icy waterfall. Then, the pain of what might come. I didn't know what would happen. Then, the raw anger made my shoulders square. I lifted my head to show him my icy stare and snarl.

"Didn't you know it's rude to go into a bathroom with out knocking?" I asked, eyes ablaze.

His gaze met mine, his eyes holding none of the mild humor and egotistical light they used to. He walked further into the bathroom, and I realized that he was in a black cut off shirt, his pale chest visible from a good side view, the firm ripples of his pale and toned abs captivating. He wasn't extremely built, just a normal firmness to assume he did some exercise on a basis. Then, he was in black pajama pants with fake red paint splotches on the material. If I hadn't been so full of emotion I hadn't felt or needed, I would've been staring. Something was in his hand, and I looked at for a moment. It was that little black bear and I vaguely remembered the same bear clutched in my hand when I woke up from my nightmares. I must've dropped it on my way out.

Madara stopped right next to me, close enough for me to be drowned by his scent that made me remember the forests my parents and I used to go camping in when I was younger, fresh and mind numbing.

His head was down, his shaggy cut hair falling around his head, messed from sleep. His eyes were looking at my thigh; its pale color blotched with anger red splotches. Madara lifted his hand, the bear's tiny arm held within his palm. He said nothing as I rolled my shorts back down slowly, the fire in my eyes slowing dimming. He placed the bear on my knee, holding it sitting up until I balanced him with my own hand. He glanced up at me, face impassive.

"I thought of a name for him, if you don't mind," Madara said deeply, his dark eyes deep with hidden thoughts and emotions. I waited, listening intently with my breath still caught in my throat. I didn't understand what this had to do with him finding out that I cut. Madara's eyes flickered to the bear, before looking back up at me, "...I think a nice name for him would be, Recovery."

Recovery the bear looked at me through his glossy, lifeless eyes, and I let out a slow breath. I didn't know what this was supposed do with anything, the name of the bear. If Madara thought that he could fix me, then he was certainly wrong. I couldn't fathom why he would even want to tell, from what I could tell he was the kind of boy who skipped classes, beat up kids for even looking at him funny, and so many other stereotypical things I could list. Why would he want to help me, when it obviously wasn't his nature?

"This is a joke, right?" I asked, my voice rough with lack of air, my breaths only slow and occasional. "Why do you want to help me, when you don't even understand anything?" I lashed out, scooting my body away the closeness of his, the bear falling onto the counter.

Madara looked at me, his eyes narrowing, "I understand more then you know." He spoke in a deadly soft tone, one with an icy tint. His hidden meaning piqued my almost non-existent curiosity.

Tell me, Madara, what exactly are _you_ hiding?

* * *

It was silent and uncomfortable in Madara's car as we pulled up to my house in the early morning, having been this way ever since he found out. I took in a deep breath, and got out of the car. There were no other vehicles in the driveway, so I hopefully assumed that both Tohru and my father were at work, and Miki was with someone else. Considering I wasn't there to watch her now and take her to school, I assumed that she would have to stay with someone else in the mornings while the parents were gone. Happy that my father and Tohru usually worked in the morning, I plucked the spare house key from underneath a fake rock on the stone path leading to the house.

Unlocking the door, I put the key back and slipped inside. The lights were off and there was no noise, so I continued inside easily. I darted across the main room and slipped up the stairs. I slipped into the room my father had forced me into inhabiting, and began to pack my things into a couple of duffle bags Madara and Tobi let me borrow. I packed all the clothing I wore, leaving behind all of the old clothing I used to wear before the crash.

I looked around, looking to see if I left anything I wanted or need. My eyes passed something pink and shiny, and I looked back. Partially hidden, a pink camera lay on top of my dresser. I reached out and took it, turning around to see it was recording, and the start of the video only a few minutes with a fresh 10 minute memory to go. Scoffing, I looked around it for a name. As soon as I saw the rhinestone 'T' on the side, I let it drop. It hit the hardwood floor with a crash, the screen shattering and a few looser pieces fell off. I lifted my foot and stepped down, pushing my weight onto it until the square box of it was dented in and cracked. If they wanted to know when I was coming, they could've been more clever then that, but, it had only been started about five minutes ago, and I was sure that I'd been in here for at least five minutes...

"You're causing plenty of unneeded stress," A smooth voice came from behind, and I whirled around to face the she devil in my doorway.

Tohru looked at her smashed camera, sneering.

"This your handy-dandy capture device? What's the whole point of getting me on video if you knew from my call that I would be coming to get my things?" I asked, tense at the dark feeling in the air.

She looked back up at me, and took a step into the room, "Sakura, Sakura, Sakura...Tch, you know," She took a pause, putting her hand into her pocket, lifting a cigarette out a box hidden within it and to her lips, flicking a lighter on to burn the tip, "I saw pictures of you before your little accident," She murmured around the cancer stick sitting loosely on her lips, "Such a pretty little thing. You had that life in your eyes, something I'm sure your father was happy to see while you were growing up. But now," She looked into my eyes and took a long drag, getting closer to me, "Your eyes are dark and cold." She blew smoke into my face, making me gag.

"Your father cried that night, you know?" She whispered slyly, her eyes piercing me, "He asked me why he couldn't see the light in your eyes anymore and he asked me if he was a bad father. I had to tell him no, because he is a good father. To Miki. He's the best thing that ever happened to her since we had to move, and then you came home from the hospital..." Her eyes narrowed, "He was so happy to get you back, and my poor little darling Miki got jealous, but I told her to wait, expecting to see the girl in those picture stepping through the threshold when he got back."

Tohru looked around the room for a moment, eyes guarded, "She would've loved to have a big sister like that. What you used to be, sparky and full of life. Then you came, clad in nothing but black and a darkness covering your entire being. Your father was still consumed by the fact that you were his little girl, and couldn't see that you weren't good for his other little girl."

At first, I was confused to where this whole conversation was going, and then it got clearer. I interrupted her little speech, face masked, "You want me to leave my father alone? My own father?"

Tohru looked at me, her expression dull, "If you know what's best for him. Listen, I've been with plenty of duds, but I like your father, and so does Miki. And, I will do anything to keep my little girl happy, so take this to deep consideration when I tell you this: Leave this house, leave his life, and don't come back."

My hands clenched around the handles of my duffle bags, my chest tightening with anger I didn't want, "And if I don't?"

She looked me right in the eyes, and placed a hand on my shoulder as she took the cigarette from her lips with the other, "You don't want to end up ruining his life, too, do you? I know about your mother, so reckless and uncaring. Do you really think she wanted a child in the first place?" Tohru asked, "But your father did, and you were his dream child until you became this little gothic brat. So now, don't you think he deserves a little angel for his daughter, instead of a little devil? Do you _really_ want to stick around when you know all you're going to do is ruin everyone else's lives?"

It stung. I didn't like the feeling. The _truth_ I knew was bleeding from her words, how ever nasty they were and coming from _her_ mouth, they were true. Completely true.

Tohru smiled, and left the room with a sway to her hips and a puff of her cigarette.

* * *

I stumbled into Madara's car, washed and in a new change of clothes. I put my duffle bags in the back seat, turning back to the windshield as Madara began to accelerate away from my old house. My heart was beating fast, a loud thumping in my ears. I place my hands against the cool leather of my seat, closing my eyes. I tried to stretch what emotionless feelings I had, but I barely had any. Feeling completely exposed, and fully aware of awkward silence between Madara and me, I shifted towards the window.

"...Are you going to tell them?" I asked after a few moments, watching as scenery flew past the window.

Madara didn't look away from the road, his face impassive, "No," I let my hopes up too soon, "You are."

My head snapped towards him, and I gave him the best glare that I could muster. He didn't seem phased, and continued to speak, "You don't have to tell them today, but you will tell them someday."

I didn't like the order in his tone, and as soon as we were parked in the school lot, I tore away from his car with a start, my book back dangling off one of my shoulders. I stormed right by the other Akatsuki, ignoring any of their greetings or calls. As I walked by their table, the bane of my existence called out, "Hey! Haruno! I got a present for you!"

Angry beyond belief from everything going on this morning, I whirled around, only to feel the pain as a fist collided with my nose. I stumbled back. My book bag dropping to the joint of my elbow as my hands flew up to my nose. It wasn't broken, but it was gushing a fountain of blood out of both nostrils. My anger flared up, rage swelling my chest. I forcefully threw my book bag onto the ground, my head lifting to face the smirking face of Karin. Her eyes widened when I let out an almost animalistic roar, throwing my self at her.

A crowd of students began to circle around us, their cheers and urging enough to keep me throwing punches. Karin threw her legs outs, throwing me off her painfully as her pointy stilettos dug into my chest. We both scrambled to the ground, blood still trailing from my nose, whilst her busted lip leaked like no tomorrow. Karin slipped out of her heels, throwing them behind her as her eyes kept trained on me. I let out a puff of air through my nose, a disgusting blood bubble coming up and popping.

We clashed together once again, and I hissed as her manicured nails tangled themselves into my hair, pulling hard. I threw my hand at her, satisfied to hear her glasses crunch as my fist collided with her face.

Glasses now discarded, Karin gave a mighty push. I fell onto my back, and the wind was taken from my lung as her threw herself onto me, her nails her choice of weapon. I refused to fight girly, and took her head into my hand, using my own nails to keep hold. Fueled by anger and rage, I used all my strength and pinned her head to the ground, using the pressure point a little bit below and behind her ear as help. I reached my fist back, ready to literally pummel her face into the pavement, when a hand caught mine.

Sputtering curses, I snapped my head around, only to stare into the hazel colored eyes of Principle Tsunade.

* * *

**Piper: Sakura's having a bad day...**

**Please review, and thanks for reading!**


	11. BandAids Don't Make it Hurt Less

**Piper: Haven't updated in forever, sorry! I've been busy, I promised my other story a couple of quick chapters, and I hope none of you are too angry. I have a bad case of writers block for this story for some odd reason.**

**Oh, and for the few people who needed some answering...**

**story lost onikage tatiana g: **I'm sorry, but I can't write it. It's not originally from me, and it would be difficult for me to do so. I'm sorry and I hope that doesn't throw you off my story.

**Eternal Icicles:** Piper-chan, please! ^-^

**Mr. Carshel: **I was flattered by your offer, but I have to decline. I'm not only paranoid by internet offers, I'm sorry, but it's not only that. I am just beginning to discover what ever writing talents I have, and I hope I have more, but I do not feel I prepared to write books yet. I haven't even started writing my own stories, only fanfictions, and I most defiantly do not want to publish my fanfictions. I want to publish something that is entirely my own, not something that is mine based off something already created. I have yet to break away from fanfictions and try creating my own, and it is proving a bit difficult for me, but I'm trying. Thank you for the offer, it made me feel very nice to know that someone thought that I was worthy of that level.

**I don't own Naruto, or the songs on Sakura's iPod.**

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Chapter 11 - Band-Aid's Don't Make it Hurt Less

* * *

**Sakura Haruno**

I walked towards my second period class, a folded cotton cloth taped to my cheek with medical tape, a wrap replacing the glove on my right hand, a bruise on my collar, and a few bruises on my arms a long with a few cuts and bandages. I had to change my clothes, the one I had been wearing were wrinkled and bloodied. I changed into a crimson shirt with a bunched up neck line that went up to below my chin, covering my burns there. I wore a long sleeve fishnet shirt underneath that, the fishnet material going into my black arm cover, arm covers tight around the bands below my elbow joint and on my wrist but loose in between. I changed my jeans into black cargo pants, pitch black with neon red rectangles and squares around the zippers and pockets. The only thing I hadn't changed was my converse.

"And if you take 'x', and-" The teacher trailed off as I opened the door, causing the whole class to stop and stare. I rolled my shoulders a bit, before stepping into the room. Eyes followed me, or more like my injuries, as I entered the room with my head held high, my bruise shining against the lighting of the room.

Handing the teacher my pass, I walked up the isle and sat down with the Akatsuki in the back row. Ignoring the empty seat next to Madara, I sat in between Deidara and Hidan. I opened up my text book to at least make it look like I was paying attention, before staring blankly above the teachers head. Hidan snickered, and poked a bruise on my arm, making me smirk. I swatted his hand away, only to have him poke it again. I sighed as Deidara joined in on the fun, both of them occasionally poking my bruises through out class.

Finally, when we had about ten minutes left, I reached over and gave both of their thighs a tight pinch. Both stifled noises of pain, glaring at me playfully. I shrugged, and continued to not pay attention. When the bell rang, I swept my things into my arms and headed for my locker. I deposited my things and grabbed my iPod and a thick notebook. History class was taught by Kakashi Hatake, not only was he always at least fifteen minutes late, he didn't teach. Gave us an assignment, whether in the book or a project, and then went back to reading. Some kids started working, but most didn't, considering we could get away with just about everything.

Plopping into my seat, I put my ear buds in and turned the music on. 'Rebirth' by Skillet flowed through the tiny devices, and my head bobbed slightly against the beginning tune.

Kisame noisily plopped next to me with a loud sigh of air, looking at me from the corner of his eyes. He reached over, jacked one of my ear buds and put it in his own ear. I blinked uncaringly, handing him the iPod to scan over what he wanted to listen to. I honestly didn't care; I just wanted to go into my own little world once more. I closed my eyes as 'Rebirth' changed to 'Animal I Have Become' by Three Days Grace, sinking a little in my seat.

Konan sat next to me lightly, looking a bit confused, "Hey, Sakura?"

My eyes opened and glided over to her face slowly, and she asked me with her eyebrows lowered in thought, "Do you know why Madara's a bit off today? I mean, he's always got that Uchiha in him that makes him people-retarded, but he hasn't smirked or really said anything once today. Did anything happen?"

I had to ask.

"Uchiha's are people-retarded?" I raised an eyebrow, and she smiled lightly.

"Haven't you noticed? Sasuke, Itachi, and Madara all have the cold should for people that aren't really in their inner circle and even the people _in_ their inner circle don't always know what's on their mind. Tobi's the same way when he gets quiet; he just knows how to have more fun then his relatives. They just don't show many emotions, not in a depressed way. It's almost hard to explain," She said, rubbing her right temple.

I nodded in understanding, and I couldn't look her in the eyes as I said to answer her first question, "No, I don't know why he's acting different."

She nodded, before looking at me with a small smirk, "So how long are you in for detention?"

"A week. She was going to make it two, but she 'interviewed' a couple of kids who were watching the fight and they explained that Karin started it. So, Karin has two weeks. I'm thankful our weeks aren't mixed. She's going to do her two weeks first, and then I'm going to do my one week," I explained, trying to extinguish all reason for questions.

Konan nodded, and I began to drift off as Zetsu and Itachi joined us in the back row, falling asleep with the last notes of 'Animal I Have Become' dying in my ears.

* * *

I hit the birdie over the net, watching with a small smirk as it blew over Hidan's head. He cursed somewhat loudly, but Deidara covered it with a loud cough, having chosen that moment to spread his germs. Hidan and Deidara pounded fists before Hidan served the birdie back, and I hit it back his way. We were just serving back and forth, no real game. Hidan and I were partners, as were Deidara and Sasori. We shared a court, whilst the others were on either side of us. Tobi and Madara were a team, as were Kakuzu and Zetsu, Konan and Pein, and Itachi and Kisame.

It was a day to play with the nets, some kids playing volley ball or tennis. Hidan and I chose to just mess around with the birdies, both just too lazy to chase a tennis ball of volleyball around the court. Sasori and Deidara were chasing their tennis ball around the court. Some how, the little neon yellowish green ball knew how to evade them perfectly when either of them missed. Kisame and Itachi had followed Hidan and me, idly hitting a birdie back and forth over the net, whilst the others chose volleyball.

"Heads up, Sakura-chan!"

_THWACK!_

I hissed in pain as my head jerked forward, a volleyball having been smacked into the back of my head and neck. I picked it up, completely ignoring the birdie that landed at my feet. I was expecting to see a smirking Karin, ready to bring up the Dodge Ball player in me and slam her with the volleyball. Instead found the Uzumaki kid, rubbing the back of his head nervously at the killing intent that rolled off me in waves. I calmed down considerably, face going impassive as my snarled lips and furrowed brows settled.

"Sorry, eh-heh, I missed," He explained weakly.

Nodding impassively, I tossed him the ball, and he caught it with a smile, "Sorry about that, Sakura-chan, I'll be careful not to hit you again!" With that, he ran off towards his team. Karin and I locked eyes, having been playing with Ino against Sasuke and Naruto. I narrowed mine, the killing intent begging to reappear. She met my stare easily, but her swollen and busted lip somehow caught my attention. It was puffed up and sickly red, tiny cracks filled with a bit of dried blood decorating them.

My chest tightened as laughter bubbled in my chest, staring at her bruised cheek next, then to her eyes, completely exposed with out her thick rimmed glasses. I pursed my lips, and turned quickly on my heel. I picked up the birdie and quickly threw it at Hidan, not even bothering to hit it with my racquet. Sasori, who was standing on my side of the net, looked at me curiously as I shook. Finally, I exploded.

Falling onto all fours, I laughed with tears coming to my eyes. Sasori walked over quickly, thinking there was something wrong, but was surprised to find me laughing. I rolled onto my back, holding my stomach as my laughter grew louder. Sasori raised and eyebrow, and I choked out between short breaths, "Her-_face_!"

Sasori glanced at Karin, and chuckled. His chuckling grew as my laughter caught on, and soon he was sitting Indian style on the ground as the two of us laughed. Konan giggled at the two of us, shaking her head in amusement.

Finally, once we had control over our laughter. He helped me up with an amused glint in his eyes. I took in a breath, trying to catch my air. I realized what I had just done, and froze slightly. I shook a little, feeling a bit out of my element. Why was I suddenly unraveling the cocoon of steel I had made?

* * *

I stirred my soup idly, watching it lazily as I listened to the television in the other room. Tobi's voice floated into the room, saying in a slightly guilty tone, "Is Sakura-chan sure she doesn't want help?"

Chuckling slightly, I replied easily, "I'm fine, Tobi-kun."

My face turned into a frown as I realized what I had called him. I took the spoon from the pot, placing it on a napkin near by. I rubbed my temples, my brain seeming to be throbbing against my skull. I was confused, and didn't know what was happening. I was beginning to let people in, I had realized that fearfully during gym class. It wasn't a good thing. The last time people were in my life, I ruined them. This was not only bad for myself, but for them. They would get hurt if I continued to let them get closer, and so would I. And I didn't know how much more hurt I could take.

_Selfish,_ I hissed at myself, opening the oven to check the biscuits I was making, _There are some many people worse off then you, and here you are; so ready to kill your self when you have the life some people dream of having._

I put oven mitts on over my hands, pulling the tray out of the oven, the biscuits a nice golden brown. I banished my thoughts as I turned the over and the burners off, calling Tobi and Madara into the room. Madara made our plates up as Tobi set out the silverware, before heading for the refrigerator.

"What does Sakura-chan want to drink?" He called loudly from within the fridge, the only part of him visible to me wear his bum and legs, both sticking out past ad ebony fridge door, a silver water and ice dispenser shining against the black.

"Milk, please," I said as I took our plates from Madara and placed them on the table. Tobi set a glass of cold milk in front of me as I slid onto my seat, across from Madara. Tobi placed his and Madara's drinks near their respective plates as both he and Madara settled into their seats.

My foot accidentally bumped something and I drew my feet closer to my self, when this time the thing bumped into me. I looked up, eyes narrowed, and saw Madara, smirking at his bowl. Frowning, I kicked at his foot. The proved to be fruitless, as his foot once again leaned against mine persistently. I didn't retaliate, just sat there; mercilessly stabbing the chicken in my soup to get rid my irritation. I thought I heard Madara chuckle, but it was drowned by Tobi explaining his day to the both of us.

* * *

**Piper: Even when he's upset with her, Madara still won't leave her alone. ^-^**

**Please review and tell me what you think, and be kind!**


	12. Wild

**Piper: Hellllooo!**

**I don't own Naruto, or any products that you recognize.**

**WARNINGS: Cussing, due to Hidan.**

* * *

Chapter 12 - Wild

* * *

**Sakura Haruno**

My hair danced with the wind as Madara followed Hidan's truck through the night, and I watched as we slowly left Konoha and entered a forest trail. The leaves danced in the dark above us, making the trees ruffle and speak. I heard night animals chatter and squeak, and an owl hooted some where in the distance as we slowly made our way up the trail. A small smirk crossed my face, and I turned towards Madara.

"I'm surprised you'd actually drive this car in a forest. I thought it was your baby."

He smirked back, "I'm not a prissy rich boy. I don't mind if my car gets dirty."

When we finally parked in a dirt clearing I jumped out of Madara's car and looked around. It was, indeed, a campsite that Konan had been telling me about. There was a large fire ring with softball sized rocks decorating a ring around it. There was a break in the trees, and you could see a lake with rocks leading down to the waters edge. Two beat up campers sat next to each other in a little curve of the tree line, both having their small dents and scratches on the paint.

The others hopped out of the back of Hidan's truck, Kakuzu and Hidan slipping out of the front. Carelessly slamming the door to the driver's side, Hidan made his way over to the fire pit through the darkness. He and Itachi began to work on lighting the fire, whilst the others began to take their things from the truck. Konan walked over to me, her silver duffle looking like it was paining her right shoulder, "Come on, Sakura. Get your stuff; we get one of the campers."

I raised an eyebrow, "What about the guys?"

She smirked, "The fold out bed it two person, so usually they do some kind of fighting or game to see which two will do it. If they don't like who they get paired up with, they either do it again or opt out and sleep in one of the tents."

Nodding, I reached back into Madara's car and grabbed my duffle before shutting the door and following Konan over to one of the campers.

We were camping for the weekend, deciding to break away from Konoha for a weekend of peace. It had been about a week since my fight with Karin, my simple wounds beginning to scab over or fade away, and it was good to get away from the city. Decked out in some "wilderness clothes" as Konan called it, I was prepared for the outdoors. A simple navy blue plaid button up shirt, hiking boots, and ripped up jeans. I was surprised to know that Itachi, Madara, and Tobi owned anything outdoorsy. They wore the most prim clothes, even if they truly only wore dark colors. Even the rips on their jeans were designer.

I tossed my luggage haphazardly into the camper, following Konan's example, before traveling over to where Hidan and Itachi had the start of a fire going. I dropped myself onto a log next to it, clearly used for sitting as the others had already sat down. The thing was that they weren't sitting _peacefully_. All of them were arguing in their own style of the world, from yelling to death glaring, about which two would sleep in the two person fold out camper bed.

Konan suddenly waved a roasted marshmallow on a thin iron rod in my face, and I carefully took the golden treat off before popping it into my mouth. Struggling to swallow, I watched with amusement shining in my eyes as Deidara tackled Hidan to the dirt. Konan popped an uncooked marshmallow into her mouth, watching with a dull expression. I'm guessing that she's gone through this many times before.

Finally, Konan stood, "Okay, hey! HEY!"

Everything slowly stopped as the guys got quiet, looking at Konan with expressions that clearly said 'What do you want? We're _arguing_ here!'. She cleared her throat, pointed, and said in a lame tone, "Tobi and Itachi get the second camper. Tobi, because he's the only one not complaining about where he sleeps, and Itachi because he's being quiet."

Complaints followed, and Konan pulled the thin iron rod she had used for marshmallow cooking from the fire. Everyone quieted as she waved it threateningly, glare in place.

The others grumbled and slunk to the tent bags as Tobi and Itachi moved their things to the camper. I simply ate another marshmallow and watched as the others pitched their tent, Konan sitting next to me with a lazy grin on her face. Suddenly, she slung an arm over my shoulders, making me stop mid chew, and said with a small laugh, "Our boys, huh?"

Blinking once in shock, I looked at her from the corner of my eyes, "Our?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Oi! We aren't you fucking dogs, you don't own us!" Hidan complained as he turned away from the tent he and Kakuzu were pitching, a glare planted on his face.

I looked at Konan, and she said in a bored tone, "Be quiet, Hidan."

He opened his mouth, but shut it quickly when the marshmallow I threw hit him in the forehead and stuck there. A steady flow of curses came from his as he turned back around, scraping marshmallow off of his face. Konan smiled and gave my shoulder a light punch. I returned the gesture half heartedly.

* * *

"Truth or Dare time!" Konan said suddenly, and my stomach twisted.

Ever since I was little, I have _hated_ that game. My pride wouldn't allow me to pick truth the whole time, and the dares I got were mostly disgusting. From licking bugs to kissing the toilet seat, my dares never got much better as I grew up. As all us kids got older, who ever my friends were at the time, their brains got more perverted so the dares themselves got more perverted. I stopped playing that game in sixth grade, chickening out of a dare to flirt with a young male teacher at my old school. I was never a flirt like other girls. I didn't sweet talk every male I see, so it was natural that I ran away from that dare with my pride wounded.

Everyone gathered closer around the fire as a steady flow of the game began. It wasn't really perverted; thank the gods, for there were only two girls and the rest guys. I was dared to eat an overly cooked marshmallow, overly cooked meaning black and made at the hands of Tobi. I almost threw up, but kept a strong will and swallowed it down. Konan had to let Hidan throw her in the lake near by, and when she finally got dry and came back out of the camper we started again.

Pein was dared to use pick up lines on Kisame, Kisame was forced to eat sushi (Which he has some strange problems with), Itachi had to wear Konan's bikini top for fifteen minutes and take poses while Hidan and Deidara snapped pictures with their phones, Sasori had to eat a bug (What species the little thing was, we will not know, but it had many legs), and Hidan had to strip to the 'I'm to sexy for my shirt' song. Thank goodness he only had to take off his shirt.

"Sakura, truth or dare?" Deidara asked, his hair wild from having to climb a big tree near the camp yard, a dare by Hidan. The catch? No clothes except for his boxers.

"Dare," I said lazily.

He smirked, and said evilly, "I dare you to go steal a pair of underwear from the campsite next to ours."

The camp site next to our, not visible through the tree lines, had come to life not shortly after we arrived here at our spot. Music and a bunch of other noise had come from their campsite.

I made a face, but stood. I tucked my plaid shirt into my black jeans, and took the black jacket Konan gave me. It would, hopefully, help hide me from who ever was camping next to us. I zipped it up and darted into the forest, following the noise with silent steps. I made my way through the trees, avoiding stepping on branches and other things the whole way. Once I made it to the tree line on the other side, I almost groaned out loud at who was camping next to us.

Sasuke and Karin, lip locked and practically raping each other with their clothes on, were across the clearing on the other side of the camp site. That Naruto kid sat by the fire, his arm draped over a blushing girl with midnight blue hair with a purplish tint. A boy with a ponytail that made his head resemble a pineapple sat on the ground a few feet away from them, Ino sitting next to him with her head on his shoulders. A boy with coffee colored hair that reached mid back sat on a log next to Naruto's, a girl with dark brown hair put into two buns sitting next to him. A large white dog lay on the ground near the fire, basking in the heat as a boy with wild brown hair rubbed his belly. A weird boy sat next to him, wearing sunglasses at nighttime. I looked at the tent closet to me, and crouched silently.

I made my way towards it slowly unzipping the zipper. When anyone moved or a noise that made me suspect that they knew I was here, I froze completely and held my breath. When I finally had it unzipped enough, I slowly slid in side. I reached for the nearest bag and dug inside. I found out that it was Sasuke's bag, because I found a shirt with his name on the tag. Making a disgusted face, I pulled out a pair of his boxers and moved the bag back to where it had originally been and slipped from the tent. I slowly zipped it, and made my way towards the forest line. I walked backwards, so that I could watch them all carefully, my eyes widened and breath hitched as a twig snapped underneath my feet.

"Hey, who's there?" Naruto called loudly, and I scrambled into the forest.

* * *

**Piper: Whew, done!**

**Please Review!**


	13. Exposed

**Piper: Hi guys!**

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Chapter 13 - Exposed

* * *

**Sakura Haruno**

I stumbled into the view of my campsite, my chest aching and my lungs shocking me with a cold sting every time I tried to breath. Every smirked at me and my disturbed expression, but I brushed it off. I took the waist band of Sasuke's boxers and let them sling shot into Itachi's face, much to his annoyance and every one else's amusement.

"There. You can give them back to him when you get home," I grumbled, collapsing onto the log next to Konan. Everyone looked at me, a bit shocked.

Konan stifled laughter, "You mean...those are...Sasuke's?"

I ran a hand through my short hair, and said in a breathless tone, "Sadly, yes. His and Karin's tent was the closet one to me."

Deidara, Kisame, and Hidan all burst into hysterics. Madara shook his head with amused look on his face, whilst the other just smirked. Konan, having swallowed down her laughter, gave my arm a swift punch. I caught my breath, and looked upwards at the dark night sky. The stars were shining through the large break in the trees that was our clearing, and everything was peaceful for a moment. I looked back down towards the fire and gave a sigh, before standing and heading towards the camper, "I'm going to sleep."

* * *

Morning came much to fast, and I was woken by the light streaming through the dirtied small window above the fold out bed in the camper. I propped my top half up with my arms, gazing tiredly around at my surrounds as everything slowly came to me. I looked down at Konan, who had the luxury of sleeping with her pillow over her face and not being disturbed by the light. I carefully managed to move myself over her and onto solid ground beside the bed. I straightened up my clothes the best I could before grabbing a couple of cooking utensils and walking out of the camper.

When my bare feet touched the ground, I looked down as I had stepped on something. My face twitched as I raised my foot, and peeled a line of toilet paper off of the heel of my foot. I looked up, and almost laughed out loud. Our campers and tents, plus the cars, were covered thoroughly in toilet paper. TP'ed professionally. I couldn't wait for the others to wake up and see this.

It didn't really bother me. It was a harmless enough prank, and seeing as we did start it by stealing underwear from their campsite I saw no reason to be furious. The reason I instantly suggest that it be them was because they were the only people around for miles. The other reasons I saw to not be angry were that neither the campers nor the cars were mine. Couldn't say the same about Madara and Hidan, who own the cars.

I walked over to our dead fire pit and started working on getting a flame so I could attempt starting a breakfast. Once I got enough of a flame going I settled for just cooking what we had the most of, and that was hot dogs. Easy to make, and simple enough to eat and be satisfied with. It may not be a healthy breakfast, but they're lucky I'm feeding them at all for making me touch Sasuke Uchiha's underpants.

"What the hell?" Ahh, Hidan was up.

He instantly was over to his truck, peeling wet toilet paper off of his truck. It was wet from the morning dew, and I guess that just made him pissier then he already was. Letting out a string of curses, I wasn't surprised at all when he took a pot from my cooking pile and started tracking through the forest. I knew he wouldn't seriously injure anyone, he most likely just planed on waking them up at this early hour and then yell cuss words at them then come back seething.

Hidan's yell of anger woke up most of the tent inhabitants, all of them emerging from their tents with stiff and irritated looks upon their faces. Their looks immediately turned when they saw the camp site, and I just looked at them with a raised eyebrow. Madara instantly went over to go try and get the clumpy and wet toilet paper off of his car, an irritated look making his brow twitch.

The others mostly ignored it after getting over their shock, to tired and hungry to say anything. They took plates of food from me and sat on the logs, watching as Madara worked with lazy faces.

I stepped back towards the camper just as Konan stepped out, an evil look on her face and one half of her hair a giant cow lick. I stepped around the evil aura around her, commenting lightly that I was going to wash up at the lake. She nodded at me stonily, sitting on the log and glaring at everyone. I'm guessing that she's not a morning person.

Once I had a wash cloth and a bottle of soap Konan brought along, I headed towards the lake with a towel over my arm. No, I wasn't stupid enough to get naked and take a bath in the lake. I was just going to clean what I could with the wash cloth and soap and squirt some of the body spray, once again, Konan brought along. I had switched to shorts inside the camper, black boy shorts that went to my knees.

I sat on a rock next to the lake and carefully looked around, before pushing up my shorts. Angry red lines stared back of me, and I noticed that they had been bleeding again. I sighed, and dipped my wash rag into the blue water of the lake, deciding it was clean enough for me, and ran it over my tainted skin to wash away some of the blood and crusty scab that had rubbed off. Just as I was finishing up, Konan came around the corner and gasped.

Cursing myself for all eternity, I shoved my shorts legs back down to my knees and stood, looking at Konan as she stared back at me with wide eyes. She stepped forward, and I had no room to step back except for in the lake.

"Y-you...You cut, Sakura?" She asked quietly, and I nodded. It was no use lying. She saw what she saw.

Her face looked troubled, like she didn't know what to think, so I did the talking, "Madara already knows. He wants me to tell the group at some point in time, but it seems that I won't need to tell you."

Anger crossed her face, and she snapped at me, "This isn't the weather we're talking about, Sakura! Stop acting so casual! Why do you do it? What feelings could you possible achieve from doing that?"

My own anger flared, and I walked towards her. I brushed past her, and stopped as we were a few feet away from each other and facing separate directions, "I do not cut _for_ emotions; I cut to be _rid_ of emotions." I said darkly, and walked away from the lake and leaving Konan standing along the shore.

* * *

Irritated beyond belief, I spent most of my time sitting on the log whilst the other got around for the day. Eventually I went and change my clothing, after Konan was finished because I refused to meet her gaze. I didn't know what to feel about this except self loathing. If I was supposed to keep all emotion at bay, how could I do it when I kept letting people find out my only way to remove them? A couple of times one of my...friends?...no, one of the group would ask me if I was ok. My excuse was I felt sick, and I just stayed back at the campsite to let them all enjoy their day as they went swimming and hiked around the forest around us.

"What's the matter Haruno, your friends ditch you?"

My mood plummeted another hundred feet at the found of Karin's voice. I turned and saw their entire camp group standing there, and Naruto waved at me while obnoxiously yelling, "Hey, Sakura-chan!"

"Shut up, idiot!" Karin hissed at him, and he glared.

My patience like thin ice, I snapped, "What do you want, Barbie-Doll?"

The one with wild hair snickered, along with Naruto, "Barbie-Doll? I like that one!"

"We came to see if you enjoyed our little tweak we added to your campsite, telling by the way that silver haired boy who came and yelled curses at us for fifteen minutes straight, I'm guessing none of you were very happy," The boy with coffee colored hair mused.

"I could've cared less. Neither car is mine and I don't own the campers," I said in an irritated voice, wishing that they would just leave.

Sasuke suddenly narrowed his eyes, "Which one of you stole my boxers?"

I waggled my fingers at him, making them all look at me in surprise.

"You touched my Sasuke-kun's boxers?"

My lips twitched into a smirk, "Trust me, Barbie-Doll, I didn't do it willingly."

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**Piper: Imma end it there cuz I have to take a break. Long, tiring day. Shockingly enough, my summer is ending soon. Our summers have been getting shorter and shorter, and I only have one or two more weeks until I got back to school. Our school had a new building built, and I'm finally going to high school and I'm afraid the older kids are gunna eat me T-T**

**Please Review!**


	14. The Gift of Knowledge

**Piper: Hi!**

**I don't own Naruto or **Monster Energy**.**

* * *

Chapter 14 - Gift of Knowledge

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**Sakura Haruno**

After I said that, Karin lunged, but was held back by Sasuke. I sat there, watching, and told him that his brother had his boxers so they would be returned. He nodded, and their group returned to their camp. For the rest of our trip, I was withdrawn. Konan tried to get me alone to talk, but I took lengths to avoid her. I even went into Madara and Pein's tent and demanded Pein go sleep in the camper with his girl friend. Madara, of course, thought this was something different and smirked at me as I wrapped up in Pein's sleeping bag and scooted as far away from the older Uchiha as possible. He made no comments; however, we were much closer when I woke up then when we went to sleep. Once the trip was over with, it was Sunday night, and hell broke loose.

* * *

The secret I had tried to keep was out. It was only natural for Konan to tell Pein about my cutting, find out that Madara had already told Pein and get angry with Madara and yell at him for not telling her, and for Tobi to be listening whilst she chewed Madara out with a fierce intent rolling off her. And if Tobi knows, the whole group, maybe even the school knows, just because the young masked Uchiha did not learn the phrase "keep your mouth shut".

I sat in a sense of paranoia as I watched the sun began to skirt around the tree tops and the sky glittered red, a sign of rain. I hadn't gotten an inch of sleep, my worry to intense for me to even close my eyes. Every time I did, I would imagine their looks of disgust once they found out. My mind began to reel out home made films, creating a detailed situation of what I thought would happen. How they didn't need the emotion baggage that was me, Sakura Haruno. Maybe it was just me being paranoid, but that thought never shook the feeling away.

As the clock next to me hit 6:30, I stood up. I made my way to my bag, where all my clothes were. I dug around until I pulled out some baggy black cargo pants and my under garments. I shifted through my shirts, and had no desire to really wear any of them. Some were dirty and shoved off to the side, and some just didn't seem to catch my attention. Usually, I wouldn't care about what I wore and would throw on anything, whether it was mismatched or not. My eyes slid towards Madara's closet, and I shrugged my shoulders at my silent thoughts and traveled towards his closet. I took one of his long sleeved white button up shirts, and didn't even have to unbutton it to get it on. Pulling my head through the collar, I was happy that I took a shower that night so I didn't have to hassle with it this morning.

Once completely changed, I traveled out to the living room and sighed. Madara still refused to take his bed back, and he now slept on the couch. I kneeled next to the couch, running a brush through my short hair easily as I shook him with my free hand. His eyes cracked open, and he stared at me as I stared at him with a blank face. I stood, his eyes following, "Get up. We need to get ready for school."

He nodded groggily and pushed his body up with quivering arms, having been lying on his stomach. He sat up, sitting with one leg tucked under the other.

I made my way to the kitchen as Madara went down the hall, probably to get some clothes and wake up Tobi. I opened the fridge and pulled out an energy drink I had bought when we stopped at the gas station on our way home from camp site. Hopefully, this would help me wake up a bit, or at least create the allusion that I had some sleep. Sipping at my green Monster, I leaned against the counter as I put toast in the toaster for Madara and Tobi. Even though it was early, school started at eight, and knowing those boys we would barely make it to class.

About fifteen minutes later, Madara trudged into the kitchen clad in black jeans and a crimson t-shirt with black paint splattered on the front. Madara glanced at me, still sipping from my energy drink, and raised an eyebrow, "Is that my shirt?"

I nodded, blinking tiredly as he smirked at me, going for the toast on a plate I handed to him. Madara smirked all through his breakfast, with me staring at the wall blankly as I drank the last of my energy drink. Tobi was silent when he came into the kitchen, and took his plate from me wordlessly. My heart clenched, and I quickly tried to push back the guilt. I knew it was my fault that he was like this.

As we all slid into Madara's car, I wondered why Hidan wasn't coming to pick Tobi up like he normally did. But, Madara made no protests as his brother slid into the back seat, setting his book bag next to him. The silence was eating at me, and apparently it was eating at Madara, too, because his smirk was replaced with a frown. He didn't like his normally abnormal brother being silent either. I put my ear buds in after the first few minutes, the silence driving me nuts. I blasted music to my ear drums, the sound so loud that it actually hurt to listen to. I didn't care, as long as there was no silence.

I saw Madara glance at me; no doubt that he was able to hear my ear splitting music. I only stopped the beat when we pulled into the parking place, my head pounding painfully as I pulled the ear buds out. I wrapped my ear bud wired around my iPod and stuck it in my pocket as we drew near to the rest of the group. My heart began to pound as we drew closer, and I felt sick to my stomach when I saw their faces. Blank.

We stopped next to them, and I was sure all of them could hear my heart beating, for it was thudding loudly in my chest.

I drew in a breath, and tried to protect my self in the only way I could: Push them away.

"I thought you were going to make me tell them," I said, making every one glance up.

Madara answered smoothly, as if he expected this, "I was, but you weren't going to any way. We both know that. Besides, I only told Pein. You told Konan."

My stomach clenched, "I didn't tell her, she saw when I was washing up by the lake."

It fell silent for a moment, before Tobi spoke up, "Why didn't Sakura-chan tell us?"

_Push them away, push them away, push them away, push them away, push them away. You'll only hurt them if you let them continue to be in your life. You'll kill them just like you did to your mother. You'll destroy their happiness, and they'll destroy yours._

"I don't trust you," I said, and my heart gave a painful thud. I turned on my heel, and began to walk away, but paused when Hidan spoke.

"That's fucking bullshit and you know it."

I turned around, eyes glazed over in what I hoped looked like angry tears, "What do you mean?"

"You trust us, you just don't want to, yeah," Deidara said quietly.

My fist clenched as my heart still banged painfully against my rib cage; they just would let me go. They were stubborn, like I was, and I felt like we were playing a game of tug-of-war and I was loosing terribly. I needed to get away from them. I could move back in with my father, but just stay away from him, Tohru, and Miki. I would let them live their lives with me just on the side. I would take the shitty bedroom and just pull my self away. It would be the best for everyone.

"If you think we're going to walk away from you, then you're wrong," Konan said, looking me straight in the eye.

I shook my head, "You don't know what you're saying. You have no idea what you're attempting to get into. Just stop now and let me walk."

"But that's not what you want, is it?" Itachi spoke, his voice emotionless as ever as his eyes bore into mine, "You want to stay just as much as we want you to."

My eyes found the ground, and I spoke quietly, "It doesn't matter what you or I want. It's for the best of everyone if I just stay _away_. I'll only cause you stress. I don't want any of you unhappy because of me."

"So you do care about us," Sasori noted, and my teeth clenched.

"It doesn't matter!" I yelled, and quieted my voice when people looked our way, "It doesn't matter if I care or not, or if you care or not! We can't be friends anymore! If I stay friends with you guys you'll only end up like my mother!"

Konan glanced at me, and said quietly, "I know about your mother's death. That whole rumor about how you said you killed your mother and step father to Karin was true... In a way. Sakura, you aren't really worried about hurting us like you did your mother," Realization flickered in her eyes, "You're worried that if you get close to people, they'll leave. That's why you cut. You think that if you shut yourself off people won't try and talk to you, and that will lessen your chances of interacting with people. That way, you won't get involved."

My breath caught in my throat, and a tear slid from the corner of my eyes. I wiped it away stubbornly, and spoke lowly, "And that's exactly why we can't be friends anymore." And then, I walked towards the school with my hair casting a shadow over my face, as a poor attempt to hide my tears from the rest of the world.

* * *

**Piper: Sakura's being a tard-muffin.**

**Please review!**


	15. Breaking the Shell

**Piper: What's up? **

**I don't own Naruto.**

**Also, there's something at the bottom of the Chapter I would like for you to read, if you will.**

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Chapter 15 - Breaking the Shell

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**Sakura Haruno**

I left the school during third period, signing my self off at the front desk saying I didn't feel well. Declining Shizune's offer to drive me home, I left the school and took a quick route towards Madara and Tobi's apartment complex. I silently went up the stairs and came to their front door. I got on my tip-toes and ran my hand along the top of the door, catching the key that fell from it in my palm. I let myself in and put the key back after making sure no one was looking.

It felt weird to be in the apartment knowing that Madara and Tobi weren't home, but I continued on until I got to Madara's room. I let myself in, pulling Madara's shirt off and over my head before tossing it into a clothes pile in a corner. I grabbed a random shirt from my duffle and pulled it on before stuffing my things into the bag. I pulled the strap on my shoulder, bag still open, and headed for the bathroom. I grabbed my necessities and zipped the bag with much difficulty, the unfolded clothes making it ten times its normal size.

As I walked into the living room, my nerves jumped as I almost expected Tobi and Madara to be there, both sitting on the couch watching TV. I could almost see Tobi look at me through the single eye hole in his mask and ask if I needed help making dinner.

Shaking my head, I turned towards the front door, and paused. My eyes closed as I remembered the day I had first walked in, before once again I had to shake the thoughts from my mind before I was able to leave the house completely. Once outside and checking to see that the door was locked, I made my way down the steps of the complex and started heading towards my old home.

It would've been pretty hot outside, had there not been a nice group of large clouds covering the city from the sun. In fact, the temperature seemed to be dropping as dark clouds rolled in from the North, bringing what I suspected to be a giant load of rain with it. My suspicions were proven correct when I looked up, and a droplet of water splashed onto my cheek.

I let myself mimic the rain, tears of frustration and self-loathing rolling down my cheeks, only to be hidden by the sky's very own tears. I hiccupped once, but pushed what ever else that might've come out back, not wanting to get to into my emotions. This was a one time thing, I told myself, I would cry this once and it would be my last before I once again wrapped myself in a dark blanket of nothing. I was soaked to the bone and crying in the rain, how pathetic could I get?

It was easy enough to let myself into my father's house. I stepped inside and went up to my shitty new...or was it old now?... room. I unloaded my things, happy that the duffle had taken most of the water and prevented it from getting inside. I put any damp clothes in the drier next door and put my dry things away.

After unpacking and changing, I sat down in the living room and looked around tiredly. Everything looked almost the same, the only difference was that a picture that used to be of my parents and I had been changed to my father with Tohru and Miki. That stung a little, and I cursed when I realized how soft I was in this current state. A grim thought lingered on the edge of my mind, and I was about to act upon it when the front door opened.

I met the eyes of my father, ignoring the two other pairs staring at me with disbelief.

"Sakura?" He breathed, stepping further into the room with rain shaking and slithering down his rain coat.

I had to look away.

"I won't bother you. Any of you. I only need to stay for a while. If I'm not welcome I'll leave," I said, staring at the window as rain hit the glass.

"Of course your welcome, Sakura," My dad said, and looked around awkwardly. "Sakura, we need-"

"I can't explain anything to you. Mostly because I don't even know or understand myself."

With that, I headed towards my room with my thoughts on my razor.

* * *

I couldn't do it, no matter how many times I tried. I would press the tiny blade to my skin and wait for my arm to move, to make it drag across my skin, but I couldn't. Stubborn tears built up in my eyes as I let out a puff of air, pressing it tighter against my skin, but couldn't bring myself to do it so hard that it would break skin. I shivered as a few tears came from the corners of my eyes, and jumped of the counter in a harsh movement.

"Damn it!" I cursed, throwing the razor into the trash bin harshly, cutting open my pointer finger. I stared at it in disgust, barely able to make it out from all the colors, my vision blurry from pent up tears. I could see a nice bead of crimson seep onto my pale skin, and watching it travel down my finger and onto my palm.

The family was out, going to take Miki to some stupid child movie that just came out, so there was no need to worry or be quiet.

It was about nine thirty at night, and it was still pouring outside. I had waited until the family left before slipping my sharp sliver of silver from its hiding spot, only to find my self unable to go through with it. The only way I could shut myself off was gone, and I was now vulnerable to human elements. Happiness, joy, love... It would only be so long until I was sucked into all of that and hurt once again. I would have to try harder to block everything out, and I doubted that I could do it. I wasn't strong enough in that area. Once bonds were formed, I was never strong enough to sever them myself.

That was the reason why my chest was aching. I couldn't do it. I couldn't sever the bonds, and now I missed them. The Akatsuki pushed their way into my life, and I _let_ them. I let them without even knowing it, pulling them into my life while they happily let me. I felt like I had a family when I was with them, and my fear of loosing them drove me to say those things I had. Because they would leave me. Maybe not willingly, but they would. Everyone does.

I gazed into the mirror, looking at the foreign person staring back. Her eyes were rimmed red and blood shot, because she was crying tears over her stupid mistakes and the guilt she felt. The emerald green inside the red lines were glossy, tears shinning in their depths. This... wasn't me. It couldn't be me. I had left behind the weakness of emotions. Or, maybe, this was me. The me that I was trying to hide. The Sakura who felt, who cried, who cared, who _loved_.

That was the reason why I was unable to cut was because when ever I tried, I would see their faces. Disappointed, sad, emotionless. Their reactions made me sick to my stomach, and I could only think about how it was my fault. I cared about their reactions and thoughts because I _loved_ them. They filled the missing pieces of my heart, the pieces I had lost or thrown away myself after my mother died, and I realized my father already had a new girlfriend. They filled what had broken, whether by me or by the loss of something else.

Cursing all the way, I walked to my room and pulled on a couple of jackets, before slipping on some knee high combat boots and tucking my jeans into them. I raised the hood of one of my jackets and grabbed my iPod, sticking it in one of my many pockets before trudging down the stairs. I flung open the front door and closed it behind me, stepping into the cold rain. Swallowing thickly, I took off at a jog into the wet darkness.

I crossed roads and streets, the wind smacking my face and pulling my hood down so that the rain could pelt me with its cold drops. After a while, I gave up on trying to keep my hood up and continued running. I slipped a few times, making my jeans muddy and torn, but I didn't care. I only stopped once I stood in front of a familiar door. I took in a breath to try and still my heart, only to freeze my lungs with chilly air. I knocked my fist against the door twice, clutching my stomach as I tried to catch my breath.

The door opened, and Madara stood in the doorway. His eyes widened at the sight of me, out of breath, muddy, and wet. I pushed some of my pink locks from my face, their color darkened from the rain. We stared at each other for a moment, and I took in a breath. I sputtered slightly from the chilly air I was greeted with, before I raised my eyes to meet his, "I'm stupid." I said after almost a minute of silence, "And confused. I have no idea what's going on. Please, help me before I get myself killed."

Madara pulled me close, and I thought he was going to pull me into the house and shut the door, but instead he pulled me to his chest. I shivered once as a cold drop of rain slid down my neck and spine, and tried pushing my self away, "You're just as stupid as me. You're making me get you wet, you idiot!" I hissed pushing fruitlessly against his chest.

I stopped trying to push him away after awhile, a calming fog turning off my brain. My eyelids fluttered slightly before sliding down, my lashes feeling heavy against my cheeks as I began to drift off. The only thing I could really think of at that moment as I practically passed out, was that Madara was warm.

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**Piper: Tadaa! I liked this chapter, but I had some trouble making it happen.**

**I have something I would like to share with you guys, if you're willing to listen. A fanfiction friend of mine that I talk to recently had her story, **Fragile Cherry Blossom**, plagiarized. She asked me to say something, and I'm more then happy to do so, seeing as I'm paranoid about things like this. Be on the look out, please, if you think you see a story similar to another you're reading, unless it's co-written. It shouldn't take that much of your time just to check, and tell the original author. The girl who took the story was called **The-Queen-Rules**, who, I believe, still has her profile up but it has a note on it, and her stories are deleted. We, **tainted cherry blossom**, the author whose story got stolen, and I**, Piper-Knight**, would advise to keep your eyes peeled, just incase. It's not right to steal other peoples work, seeing as most put their all into writing good fanfictions. Just because it's a fanfiction, does NOT mean that it's not bad. It's terrible to see, because lots of good stories have been stopped because someone selfish person went and took an idea not their own. **

**Thank for reading if you did.**

**Please review!**


	16. Smiles

**Piper: Sorry, I didn't mean for this to be so late. School started, so I've been readjusting to a lot.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

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Chapter 16 - Smiles

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**Sakura Haruno**

I sneezed once again, cursing loudly. Tobi watched me from the chair on the other side of the coffee table, clearly amused. I pulled the blanket given to me tighter around my shoulders, shivering at how cold I felt. I took a sip from my hot chocolate, and watched as Madara came back into the room and hung up the phone. He sat down next to me, and said tiredly, "The others will be here soon."

"You tell them why?" I asked, and he shook his head with a small smirk.

"Surprise," He said, and I shrugged my shoulders. I gave a suddenly violent shiver, and cursed. I pulled more of the blanket around me to try and stop myself from shaking. Madara put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him. My head rested on his chest, and I was too tired to argue him about how my wet hair was going to get his freshly dried shirt wet once more. He was to warm for me to pass this up. I moved closer, and he chuckled, moving his arm so that I fit more comfortably against his side.

"Shut up, you're warm," I said, my voice shaking slightly. I could feel Tobi smiling across the room, something that I was able to pick up on since hanging around him and Madara for so long. When he smiled or frowned, it's almost as if you could feel it due to the fact that you couldn't see it.

We sat without conversation for a few moments, listening to the television. I wasn't really watching it, I was about to fall asleep once again on Madara. His warmth was fogging my brain, and I was about to give into the sleep when I heard the front door opened. I blinked sleepily as Madara shifted to look over his shoulder. The others entered the living room, damp form the rain. They all spotted me, curled up against Madara's side with red cheeks and nose, and looked shocked.

"Surprise," I said dully, before letting out a giant sneeze. Madara rubbed my shoulder as I began to shiver again. The other slowly adjusted to the room, and sat around the living room. They waited for an explanation, and I was suddenly short for words. I decided to just let myself talk, and not think about what I was going to say. It was really the only way to speak the truth without feeling nervous.

"I'm sorry," I started, "I'm sorry I was stupid today. I probably hurt you, and I didn't...mean to. But today, our little fight pushed me a bit out of my comfort zone. That was all it took for me to realize a lot of things. I can't stop being friends with you," I said, "Because I don't want to." I continued before they could say anything, and said quietly, "I understand if you don't want to, though. I don't understand why anyone would want to put up with my shit."

"I fucking would."

I looked at Hidan, raising an eyebrow wearily. He chuckled, "Konan doesn't freaking let me poke her bruises after she's been in a chick fight."

That little joke lightened up the room, and I felt almost peaceful. Until I sneezed.

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I was sick. It was easy enough to figure that out. I stayed at Madara' apartment while everyone went to school, trying to sleep off a cold. When school was over, Madara and Tobi filled me in on my homework and helped me understand anything I struggled with. Madara cooked while Tobi sat and watched television with me. The others came over frequently, to visit or have dinner with us. My being sick didn't really both them, all saying that they usually got sick from each others colds and flues anyway.

Madara was actually kind enough to go get my things from my father's while I was still heavily sick and sleeping practically 20 hours a day. I opted out of sleeping in my pajamas, for they were to hot for my skin temperature as a sick person, and stole a pair of Madara's boxers and one of his shirts. He found this amusing, but I could care less. I was comfortable and happy.

I sat, slumped against the couch barely even watching the television I was staring at. My mind was blank, and I didn't even know what I was _watching_. It was like I was sleeping while I was awake, my mind shut off. I heard the door open, and the shuffle of shoes. Madara entered the living room, and I looked at him with tired eyes. He chuckled at me, and turned off the television. He sat next to me, and I asked stuffily, "Where's Tobi?"

"With the others. They're going out for some ice cream. They're bringing some back for us," He explained.

I nodded, thinking about how good ice cream would feel on my sore throat. I sighed and let my head fall onto Madara's should. His arm wrapped around me, and I was glad I had taken a shower this morning. I sure needed one; the warm water had soothed my skin and felt like heaven. Until I had a hot spell, then I turned the water on cold and ended up freezing my ass off.

"I'm tired," I mumbled into his shoulders, and my body shook as he chuckled lightly.

I looked up at him, and smirked lightly, "You're too lumpy of a pillow." We both knew that was a lie.

Madara met my gaze and smirked back at me, "Really? That didn't stop you from falling asleep on me last weekend."

"I was sick from the rain then, too." I was aware that we were both leaning in.

"Really?"

"Of course."

We met in the middle, and my heart jumped against my ribcage. I didn't know what to really feel about this. I hadn't kissed a boy before, and I certainly never had a boyfriend before. I liked Madara. A lot. But I wasn't sure if that was enough or not. Did he feel the same, or was a forcing myself on him?

I banished that thought quickly when Madara held me in place, keeping me close. My mind went foggy after that, and I could only think once we parted. My face felt hot, and we looked at each other surprise. The next thing I knew there was a flash of white, and I groaned as my head gave a heavy throb. Rubbing my eyes, I looked over to see the group standing in the doorway, Konan with a camera in her right hand. I was at a loss for words, and apparently so was Madara.

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I sighed to myself, kicking my foot against the ground. Principle Tsunade looked down at me, before a small smirk met her lips, "Why is that you can't not get caught, Miss Haruno?"

"Because Karin screeches like a banshee when she's getting punched in the face repeatedly," I said quietly, and to my surprise she chuckled at me.

Tsunade waved her hand at me, sighing quietly, "Detention next Friday, now get out of my office, brat."

I scrambled from my chair and exited her office, said a quick "Hello" to Shizune, and exited the school. A smile met my face as I ran for Madara's car, sliding into the passenger seat. Madara raised an eyebrow at me, and I laughed a little, "Next Friday I have detention."

He shook his head at me and started his car, steering easily with one hand as his free one took my hand. He rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand, and I squeezed his palm lightly. I sighed happily and looked out the window, smiling happily. It was a whole year since Madara and I started dating, and it's been smooth sailing so far. We've had a few bumps with my past, but everything turned out fine. The Akatsuki and I became like one giant family, and everything was normal. I was smiling now, and laughing. I was lighter, and happier. My life was going some where, and Konan and I were studying with Tsunade on the weekends to become doctors after high school.

Karin and I still have out fights, obviously. Karin and Sasuke's relationship is non-existent, something about Karin sleeping with other men or something like that.

I found my peace with the Akatsuki, and I was now more content with life. I had come to terms that my mother's death was not my fault, and that I had no say in my father's decisions. I let him live his life with Tohru and Miki, now fully living with Madara and Tobi. Life was good, and I was becoming more stable everyday with the Akatsuki, surprisingly. They all had their pasts, and they all had their fair share of bad memories, but they still helped me through it all.

My eye brows furrowed as Madara pulled to a stop in front of the park a few blocks away from his house. I looked towards him in confusion, "Madara?"

He looked at me, dark eyes hiding something in their depths. He turned his body towards me, taking the hand he was holding into both of his. My heart sunk, and I expected the worst. Madara took one hand away and reached into his pocket, looking me in the eyes, "Sakura, I know that you're thinking of the worst. Stop it." His command made me chuckle a little, and I nodded.

Madara pulled his hand from his pocket and slipped a silver band onto my ring finger. My heart skipped a few beats, and I almost chocked before I commanded myself to breath again. He looked down at the ring, rubbing his finger across it lightly, "If you want me to save this for a later date, when you're ready, I will...This is a promise ring, for us, if you want," He said, looking up so that his eyes met mine. "I promise that after we're through with high school and you are done with you're training to be a doctor... I'm going to buy you a wonderful ring with all the money in my pocket, and ask you to marry me."

I bit my lip, and leaned closer. I rested my forehead against his and smiled lightly, "You don't have to spend all you're money. As long as I know you love me at the time, you could give me a ring pop and I would still say yes."

He chuckled, his breath fanning against my face, "I might just do that."

I smiled, and our lips met. Everything had changed since I met the Akatsuki. If I was still that Sakura I was, I would say that it was a bad thing and go on about how terrible it would be to get close to someone, but now... I'm to busy drowning in the love of my boyfriend and friends to even think about the past.

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**Piper: You guessed it, this is the end. Sorry if any of you are dissatisfied, I kinda am. This was no way the best I could do. AU was kind of hard for me, because it was kind of difficult to make for a plot. I think I'm going to make a Naruto world story with Sakura and the Akatsuki sometime soon. Thank all of you who did for reading, reviewing, alerting, and favoriting!**

**Please review and I hope you had fun reading!**


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